Crypto World
BTC tumbled 22% in first quarter, but could be a ‘coiled spring’
Bitcoin’s first-quarter slump capped an unusual run: nearly six months of underperformance against U.S. equities, a stretch that has no precedent.
“That’s never happened,” said Mark Connors, founder of Risk Dimensions, pointing to data showing bitcoin lagging stocks consistently since early October. The trend has raised fresh questions about whether the asset is behaving more like a risk trade than a hedge.
Bitcoin fell roughly 22% in the first quarter of 2026, following a 25% decline during the final three months of 2025. Over a similar period, the S&P 500 declined far less, leaving a wide performance gap. Connors said the duration of that gap, not just the size, stands out. Previous pullbacks have been sharper but shorter.
The weakness came amid broader market struggles. U.S. equities logged their worst quarter in four years, with the Nasdaq down more than 10% from recent highs. The combined decline across stocks and crypto erased much of the rally that followed the 2024 election.
Policy progress has been uneven. A new SEC chair has helped clear a path for more crypto ETFs, and lawmakers have advanced measures such as the GENIUS Act. Trump also signed an executive order in August that would make it easier for 401(k) plans to include alternative assets such as cryptocurrencies, private equity and real estate, which the Labor Department proposed a rule in response to on Monday.
March Shows Signs of Stability
Despite the weak quarter, bitcoin held up better in March than many expected.
The early March escalation between the U.S. and Iran sent shockwaves through global markets, driving oil prices and the U.S. dollar higher as investors reacted to supply risks and rising costs.
The volatility triggered sharp moves across asset classes. Gold, often treated as a safe haven, saw extreme swings as margin calls and urgent liquidity needs forced selling by both institutional investors and sovereign entities. The scale of the move ranked among the most severe short-term dislocations in decades.
Bitcoin, however, did not experience the same level of forced unwinding. The crypto rose about 1% in March, while gold fell 11% over the same period. “It really hung in there,” Connors said.
He attributes that stability in part to earlier liquidations that cleared out leveraged positions. Bitcoin’s ability to move quickly across borders may also limit forced selling compared with physical assets.
Outlook: A “Coiled Spring”?
Looking ahead, Connors pointed to bitcoin’s extended stretch of underperformance relative to equities as a factor that could shape what comes next. Rolling 63-day data shows the asset has lagged the S&P 500 since October — the longest such period on record — an imbalance that has historically preceded reversals.
If that pattern holds, bitcoin could be entering a phase where relative weakness gives way to renewed demand, particularly as macro pressures tied to debt and currency expansion continue to build in the background.
The timing, however, may depend less on market structure and more on geopolitics. The trajectory of the Iran conflict and its impact on energy markets, liquidity and global risk appetite could determine how quickly sentiment shifts.
“It’s either two months or two years,” Connors said.
HFI Research has stated that the oil market has passed its breaking point, which was projected around mid-April
The analysis argues that these inventory draws will occur regardless of any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, driven by structural and logistical constraints. This comes amid notable uncertainty around the diplomatic efforts to resolve the US–Iran war.
Why a Peace Deal May Not Reverse the Oil Market Shock
HFI explained that even with a US-Iran peace deal, oil market recovery would be delayed by logistical bottlenecks. An estimated 160 million barrels of floating storage in tankers would begin discharging. However, transit and offloading alone would take 30–40 days, with tanker turnaround requiring an additional 20 days.
Meanwhile, around 70 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) en route to load US crude for Asia face a much longer cycle. It would take 6–8 weeks for loading, 45–50 days for transit, and another 20–25 days to offload and return.
“In total, we will not see meaningful tanker traffic back in the Strait of Hormuz from this entourage for at least 3 months,” the blog read.
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Onshore constraints in the Middle East further complicate the recovery. The region holds 600 million barrels in onshore storage. Producers need roughly 200 million barrels drained before they can restart output.
That would take at least 100 VLCC. However, current tanker activity suggests this rebalancing may not occur until mid-to-late June at the earliest.
“Once the onshore crude storage drains, we need a steady flow of tankers coming to through the Strait of Hormuz to pick up crude. By this point, producers like Saudi, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, and Bahrain can restart. This process will take a few more weeks all but guaranteeing that the lack of supply continues,” HFI Research added.
The report highlighted that cumulative storage lost due to the closure already totals roughly 1 billion barrels, rising to 1.98 billion by the end of June.
According to HFI, given the limited commercially available crude to offset such losses, the market may require demand destruction to restore equilibrium. If the Strait remains closed beyond April, oil prices could move into uncharted territory, with traditional pricing mechanisms breaking down.
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The post A US-Iran Peace Deal May Not Be Enough To Save the Oil Market Now: Here’s Why appeared first on BeInCrypto.
The hackers that stole $290 million in the KelpDAO exploit are beginning to launder their ill-gotten gains, according to onchain sleuth ZachXBT and data from Arkham.
Arkham shows that the wallet in control of the proceeds of the exploit sent two transfers of $117 million and $58 million on the Ethereum blockchain during European hours on Tuesday.
ZachXBT reported that a portion of the stolen funds has already begun moving across chains. Roughly $1.5 million was bridged from Ethereum to Bitcoin via Thorchain, alongside an additional $78,000 routed through the privacy protocol Umbra. North Korean hackers Lazarus Group have previously used protocols like Thorchain to launder funds.
Cross-chain routing and privacy tools are commonly used in the early ‘layering’ stage of laundering, suggesting the attacker may be preparing to further disperse the funds across multiple venues.
The KelpDAO exploit is one of the largest decentralized finance breaches in recent months, spurring a wave of negative sentiment across the DeFi sector and fears over contagion will spread to other blockchains.
Layer 2 network Arbitrum said Monday it had frozen $71 million in ether linked to the hack, a move that could pressure the exploiter to accelerate efforts to move and launder the remaining funds.
The newly appointed Governor of the Bank of Korea, Shin Hyun-song, has voiced support for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and tokenized deposits in his first public address.
Shin, who began his four-year term after an inauguration ceremony in Seoul on Tuesday, said the central bank will advance the second phase of “Project Hangang,” a Bank of Korea-led pilot project to test a blockchain-based, wholesale CBDC system.
He also pointed to international cooperation efforts, including the “Agora Project,” an international collaborative initiative launched in April 2024 by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and seven central banks to explore the tokenization of cross-border payments. Shin said these initiatives “will elevate the status of the Korean won in the digital payment environment.”
While previous reports had suggested Shin was open to won-based stablecoins, he did not mention stablecoins in his inaugural speech.
South Korea’s stablecoin bill remains stalled, with regulators and lawmakers split over whether issuance of won-pegged tokens should be limited to commercial banks or opened up to non-bank players such as fintech and tech firms.
Related: South Korea draft bill puts stablecoins, RWAs under finance laws: Report
Shin flags geopolitical risks
Shin also mentioned rising tensions in the Middle East and its effect on oil prices, saying that the Bank of Korea must adapt to rising uncertainty driven by geopolitical shocks, inflation pressures and shifts in the global economy.
“We must strive for price and financial stability through the operation of prudent and flexible monetary policy,” he said.
Shin was the BIS economic adviser from May 2014 to March 2026 and also served as head of the Monetary and Economic Department from January 2025, according to the BIS website.
Last month, he published an academic paper arguing that stablecoins fail to meet a core property of money, “unity,” because blockchain networks are inherently fragmented across different chains with varying fees, security and decentralisation levels.
Related: Naver-Dunamu filing sets IPO committee, listing timeline for fintech group
South Korea to test tokenized deposits for government spending
South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance is preparing to test blockchain-based payments for selected government expenses as part of a regulatory sandbox exploring distributed ledger technology in public finance.
The pilot will use tokenized deposits to execute government operational spending, with a full rollout targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. The initial phase will be launched in Sejong City and will include conditions such as limits on timing and spending categories.
A group of 12 European banks led by Qivalis has chosen Fireblocks to provide infrastructure for a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin.
Summary
- Qivalis and 12 European banks are building a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin with Fireblocks infrastructure support.
- The euro token will target institutional settlement, treasury, and tokenized asset use across Europe.
- European banks are pushing local stablecoins as dollar-backed tokens continue dominating the global market.
The project is targeting a launch in the second half of 2026, pending approval from De Nederlandsche Bank under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation framework.
Qivalis said the token will be fully regulated and backed 1:1 with euros. The company plans to structure the product as an electronic money institution under Dutch supervision. The group includes bank-backed support from firms such as BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING, and UniCredit.
Fireblocks will supply the tokenization system, wallet infrastructure, and lifecycle management tools for the project. The platform will also support compliance functions such as identity verification and sanctions screening, which are central to regulated digital asset products in Europe.
A Fireblocks spokesperson said the project is being built as a ”regulated euro-native settlement instrument” for European institutions. The spokesperson added that the platform is designed to support issuance, custody, treasury management, and payment orchestration across several banking use cases.
Moreover, the planned stablecoin is intended for institutional uses such as settlement, treasury operations, and tokenized assets. The banks involved are aiming to provide a euro-denominated digital payment tool that can work across multiple business lines without relying on dollar-based stablecoins.
The move comes as European banks and companies step up efforts to build local digital payment infrastructure. The project also reflects a wider push to reduce dependence on dollar-denominated stablecoins, which still dominate global digital asset settlement and payments activity.
Europe responds to dollar stablecoin dominance
DeFiLlama data shows the global stablecoin market stands near $320 billion, with about 99% of supply tied to the US dollar. Euro-denominated stablecoins remain a small part of the market, which has pushed European institutions to back local alternatives under clear regulatory frameworks.
The project also comes as policymakers and regulators in Europe continue to raise concerns about the role of foreign-currency stablecoins in the region. The Bank for International Settlements recently repeated warnings that some dollar stablecoins may operate more like investment vehicles than money because of their short-term securities exposure.
Earlier this month, Bank of France first deputy governor Denis Beau called on the European Union to limit the use of non-euro stablecoins in everyday payments. Against that backdrop, the Qivalis-led initiative adds another effort to build a regulated euro stablecoin market with direct banking support and MiCA-compliant infrastructure.
AUD/USD is attempting a fresh increase from 0.7115. NZD/USD is consolidating and could aim for a move above 0.5930 in the short term.
Important Takeaways for AUD/USD and NZD/USD Analysis Today
• The Aussie Dollar remained supported above 0.7100 and recovered losses against the US Dollar.
• There is a rising channel forming with resistance at 0.7200 on the hourly chart of AUD/USD at FXOpen.
• NZD/USD is consolidating gains above 0.5900 and 0.5890.
• There is a bullish trend line forming with support at 0.5890 on the hourly chart of NZD/USD at FXOpen.
AUD/USD Technical Analysis
On the hourly chart of AUD/USD at FXOpen, the pair formed a base above 0.7100. The Aussie Dollar started a decent increase above 0.7150 against the US Dollar to enter a short-term positive zone.
The bulls even pushed the pair above the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the 0.7221 swing high to the 0.7114 low and the 50-hour simple moving average. The AUD/USD chart indicates that the pair could struggle to clear the 61.8% Fib retracement at 0.7180.
The first major hurdle for the bulls could be 0.7200. There is also a rising channel forming with resistance at 0.7200. An upside break above 0.7200 might send the pair further higher. The next major target might be 0.7220.
Any more gains could clear the path for a move toward 0.7300. If there is no close above 0.7200, the pair might start a fresh decline. Immediate bid zone could be near 0.7165 and the 50-hour simple moving average.
The next area of interest is 0.7155. If there is a downside break below 0.7155, the pair could extend its decline toward 0.7115. Any more losses might signal a move toward 0.7080.
NZD/USD Technical Analysis
On the hourly chart of NZD/USD on FXOpen, the pair also followed AUD/USD. The New Zealand Dollar failed to stay above 0.5920 and corrected gains against the US Dollar.
The pair dipped below 0.5900 and the 50-hour simple moving average. A low was formed at 0.5848, and the pair is now attempting to recover losses. There was a move above the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the 0.5928 swing high to the 0.5848 low.
Besides, there is a bullish trend line forming with support at 0.5890. The NZD/USD chart suggests that the RSI is above 50, signaling a short-term positive bias. On the upside, the pair is facing resistance near 0.5920.
The next major hurdle for buyers could be near 0.5930. A clear move above 0.5930 might even push the pair toward 0.5950. Any more gains might clear the path for a move toward the 0.6000 pivot zone in the coming sessions.
On the downside, there is support forming near 0.5890 and the 50-hour simple moving average. If there is a downside break below 0.5890, the pair might slide toward 0.5850. Any more losses could lead NZD/USD into a bearish zone to 0.5820.
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Bitcoin price reclaimed the $76,000 mark on Tuesday as investors await confirmation of a potential peace deal between the U.S. and Iran.
Summary
- Bitcoin reclaimed $76K after dipping below $74K, rising 2% to an intraday high of $76,483 as investors bought the recent pullback.
- Price action remained tied to U.S.-Iran tensions, with markets awaiting clarity on a potential peace deal ahead of a Wednesday deadline.
- Analysts warn BTC could target $80K on a deal, while prolonged conflict risks a drop below the $75K psychological support level.
According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price rose 2% to an intraday high of $76,483 on Tuesday before stabilizing around $76,150 at press time.
Bitcoin edged higher today as investors bought the dip in its price below $74,000 on Monday after reports emerged that Iran may not be attending the emergency peace summit with the U.S. in Islamabad, as the U.S. continues to place its naval blockade on Iranian traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
On Monday, tensions between the two nations escalated after the U.S. intercepted and seized an Iranian ship carrying military supplies, following which Iran retaliated with its own targeted missile strikes against regional naval assets.
As such, diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israel war on Iran remain uncertain, with Tehran saying it will not negotiate on a deal with the U.S. under its terms or under a constant military threat.
While U.S. President Donald Trump has called for a final negotiation deadline by Tuesday, he extended the timeline to Wednesday evening Washington time for further diplomatic deliberations.
Despite his repeated claims that Iran is ready to sign on a deal, sources from within Tehran have suggested otherwise, with officials stating they will agree only if a deal is made under specific conditions set by Iran.
Earlier, Iran had asked for several concessions, including billions in reparations for wartime damages to the nation’s infrastructure and the right to continue its uranium enrichment for peaceful energy purposes. However, the U.S. has firmly opposed Iran possessing any form of nuclear power, with Trump noting that such capabilities are a non-negotiable red line.
Trump has indicated that there may not be a further extension of the deadline after tomorrow if Iran fails to cooperate fully with the proposed terms.
The ongoing conflict has left the Strait of Hormuz blocked for over ten days, effectively cutting short global energy supplies, with economists warning that a continued stalemate could lead to a global recession.
Despite no concrete signs of whether Iran would go with the U.S. proposal, Bitcoin price has benefited from dropping crude oil prices today. Notably, WTI crude oil fell back to $86 while Brent crude prices retracted to under $95. Meanwhile, the bellwether cryptocurrency has also benefited from a potential investor capital rotation from gold, which has fallen significantly today.
For many traders, the outlook for Bitcoin price is largely tied to how successfully the deal will play out tomorrow. If a potential deal is reached, Bitcoin bulls could target a rally toward $80,000 in the coming days.
On the contrary, if Iran continues to resist diplomatic terms, BTC could drop below the $75,000 major psychological support. This could further erode investor confidence and trigger a potential mass liquidation event across the broader crypto market.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Ripple’s native token has returned to focus after crypto analyst Ali Martinez, known as Ali Charts on X, said whales accumulated 360 million XRP over the past week.
Summary
- XRP whales accumulated 360 million tokens in one week as price held near resistance levels.
- Ali Charts flagged a bullish setup, with $1.55 now the key breakout level.
- wXRP on Solana and WhatsApp trading added fresh attention to XRP’s recent momentum story.
The large buying activity came as XRP traded at $1.44, with a 24-hour trading volume of $2.67 billion. The token was up 1.59% over 24 hours and 4.98% over seven days (according to CoinGecko data).
The whale accumulation has added to market attention around XRP’s next move. Traders are now watching whether strong buying from larger holders can help support another push higher after recent gains slowed near resistance.
Technical signals point to a possible breakout
As we previously reported, Ali Charts said ”$XRP consolidates in a symmetrical triangle, pointing to a potential 35% move.” That pattern has kept XRP in a tight range as traders wait for a breakout in either direction. The comment has added to speculation over whether XRP could be preparing for a larger price swing.
The analyst also said on April 18 that ”$XRP: SuperTrend flips bullish!” He added that the daily chart showed its first bullish flip since Jan. 17. According to the post, the key level remains $1.55.
Meanwhile, open interest in XRP futures climbed to $2.61 billion, with gains reported across CME and Binance. At the same time, short liquidations rose between April 15 and April 16 after XRP moved above $1.40. That activity showed rising trader interest as price pushed into a higher range.
Support is now seen around $1.37 to $1.38. If XRP holds that zone, traders may look for another test of $1.50. If buyers clear that resistance, $1.65 could become the next level in view.
Broader developments add to market activity
Part of XRP’s recent move has also been linked to Ripple’s work with Kyobo Life Insurance on tokenized government bonds in South Korea. That development added a fresh use case narrative as interest around tokenization continued to grow.
The launch of wrapped XRP on Solana also brought new attention to the asset. Through Hex Trust and LayerZero, users can now access wXRP in new trading flows, including an AI-powered interface on WhatsApp that lets users buy and trade through text commands.
Together with the rise in the Crypto Fear and Greed Index to 62, these factors have added more momentum to the current XRP discussion, though price still needs to break key resistance before a stronger rally can be confirmed.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Alibaba has rolled out a preview of its most advanced AI model yet, stepping up its push into the top tier of global AI development.
Summary
- Alibaba launched Qwen 3.6 Max Preview, its most advanced AI model, with top rankings across multiple coding and agent benchmarks.
- The model is offered as a proprietary hosted system, marking a move away from the company’s earlier open access approach.
According to an X post from Alibaba’s Qwen team, the new model, Qwen 3.6-Max-Preview, has taken the lead across several key benchmarks, particularly in coding and agent-based tasks. Internal testing placed it ahead on SWE-bench Pro for real-world software work, Terminal-Bench 2.0 for command-line execution, and SkillsBench for general problem-solving, alongside strong results in tool use and web interaction benchmarks.
Performance gains extend beyond coding. SuperGPQA scores rose by 2.3%, pointing to stronger reasoning ability, while QwenChineseBench improved by 5.3%, underlining better performance in Chinese language tasks. Instruction-following capability also ranked at the top in ToolcallFormatIFBench, where the model outperformed competing systems, including Claude.
The release is now live through Qwen Studio and Alibaba Cloud’s Model Studio API under the identifier qwen3.6-max-preview. Developers can integrate it without major changes, as the API supports both OpenAI and Anthropic formats.
Alibaba’s latest move signals a noticeable change in direction. Earlier versions of Qwen built momentum through open-source access, helping the model family gain widespread adoption. Max-Preview, however, is a hosted proprietary system with no open weights.
Lower-tier models remain open source, but the flagship tier is now positioned as a paid, controlled offering. The shift comes just days after Alibaba open-sourced Qwen 3.6-35B-A3B, a model designed to run efficiently by activating only 3 billion of its 35 billion parameters during inference, cutting compute costs while maintaining output quality.
Combined, the Qwen 3.6 lineup now spans multiple use cases. Max-Preview sits at the top for high-end workloads, while the Plus variant targets balanced tasks, Flash focuses on speed, and 35B-A3B supports local deployments.
A new feature introduced with Max-Preview, called preserve_thinking, allows the model to carry reasoning traces across multiple interactions. Alibaba recommends it for agent-driven workflows where maintaining context across long sessions is important.
Alibaba described the release as an ongoing project, noting the model is still under active development and likely to improve in future updates. Qwen 3.6-Max-Preview currently supports a 256k token context window and is limited to text input, with no image capabilities at launch.
Industry transition toward monetization
Alibaba recently shut down the free tier of Qwen Code, while MiniMax updated its open-source license to restrict commercial use without approval. Both actions point to a gradual move away from free access models that initially drove adoption.
Qwen’s growth has been notable. The model family overtook Meta’s Llama as the most widely deployed self-hosted system, with much of that traction built during its open-access phase. At the same time, Chinese open models expanded their share of global usage from 1.2% in late 2024 to around 30% by the end of 2025.
Max-Preview now sits at the center of Alibaba’s effort to compete directly with leading frontier models from OpenAI and Anthropic.
Independent analysis from Artificial Analysis ranks the model as the second-best performer behind Muse Spark, placing it well above the average for reasoning models in its pricing category.
One of Singapore’s largest banks just handed Ethereum a significant institutional vote of confidence. OCBC has launched GOLDX, a tokenized physical gold fund on Ethereum, a move that will reshape how Asian institutional capital flows into public blockchain infrastructure. Following this, our Ethereum price prediction model pops with the most bullish in months.
OCBC, in partnership with its asset management arm Lion Global Investors and digital asset exchange DigiFT, issued GOLDX, targeting institutional investors, hedge funds, and asset managers, with the underlying fund carrying roughly $525 million in assets under management as of April 16. Investors can subscribe using stablecoins or fiat, with tokens delivered directly to blockchain wallets.
“We believe digital assets will play an increasingly important role in financial services,” said Kenneth Lai, OCBC’s head of global markets.
The broader tokenized real-world asset market now sits at over $29 billion on public blockchains, up more than 10% in the last 30 days, and grinding higher since it has been available.
This institutional momentum is building against a technically uncertain backdrop for ETH — and institutional inflows across crypto are accelerating sector-wide. The price setup deserves a closer look.
Discover: The best pre-launch token sales
Ethereum Price Prediction:$3,000 Soon with Singapore’s GOLDX Catalyst?
ETH has shed 2.11% over the past seven days, slipping from $2,450 to current levels, a psychological level that’s now flipped to resistance. The price is caught in a consolidation band that has been tightened.
The 200-day SMA rises to $2,642 sitting well above spot, confirming ETH remains in a recovery phase. Forecast models suggest a maximum 2026 upside of around $3,050, implying about 20% from current levels under normal conditions.
However, if OCBC’s GOLDX launch catalyzes fresh institutional demand on-chain, ETH might and could reclaim the $2,640 200-day SMA and test the resistance. Tom Lee’s TOKEN 2049 target of $22,000 remains a longer-duration thesis requiring BTC to hit $250,000 first.
The OCBC news is real and material, but ETH’s price history shows institutional announcements don’t always translate to immediate spot moves. For now, we wait.
Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with
LiquidChain Combines ETH, SOL, and Bitcoin
ETH’s 20% projected upside to $3,062 is real, but at a $280 billion market cap, the asymmetry is limited. That’s the structural reality of buying blue-chip crypto in consolidation. For traders willing to accept higher risk in exchange for earlier positioning, the calculus looks different at the infrastructure layer.
LiquidChain is an L3 infrastructure project with a proposition built directly around the OCBC moment: it fuses Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana liquidity into a single execution environment. The GOLDX launch, running on both ETH and Solana simultaneously, underscores the cross-chain complexity that LiquidChain’s Unified Liquidity Layer is designed to collapse.
A new layer emerges. Only a few see it first. — LiquidChain (@getliquidchain) March 24, 2026
The future is LiquidChain 
⟁https://t.co/vqvBcdSj94 pic.twitter.com/R7ZeZ0NPGl
Its Deploy-Once Architecture means developers access all three ecosystems without redeployment, with Single-Step Execution and Verifiable Settlement rounding out the stack.
The presale is currently priced at $0.01451, with $690,005.61 raised to date. As with any early-stage presale, capital is at risk and token liquidity is not guaranteed at launch.
Research LiquidChain before the current pricing tier closes.
The post Ethereum Price Prediction: Singapore Largest Bank Launches Gold on ETH appeared first on Cryptonews.
Artificial intelligence agents are becoming economic actors at a pace that outstrips the infrastructure around them, according to a16z crypto. In a recent post, the firm argued that the real bottleneck in the agent economy is no longer intelligence, but identity.
Today’s agents can execute tasks and move money, yet they still lack standardized ways to prove their identity, demonstrate what they’re authorized to do, and more. That missing layer, the firm suggests, is where blockchains can come in.
From KYC to KYA: a16z Makes the Case for Onchain Identity for AI Agents
In a recent blog post, a16z noted that non-human agents already outnumber human employees by roughly 100 to 1 in financial services. Yet the agents remain “effectively unbanked.”
“They can interact with financial systems, but not in ways that are portable, verifiable, or trusted by default. They lack standardized ways to prove their permissions, operate independently across platforms, or bear liability for the actions they take,” the authors wrote.
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The missing piece, according to the post, is a shared identity layer for agents. This could essentially be an SSL equivalent that would standardize how they coordinate across platforms.
Today’s approaches, it noted, remain fragmented. According to a16z crypto,
“While there are prominent attempts to solve this today, those approaches are fragmented: vertically integrated, fiat-first stacks on one side; crypto-native, open standards (like x402 and emerging agent identity proposals) on the other; and extensions of developer frameworks like MCP (model context protocol) that attempt to bridge application-layer identity. There is still no broadly adopted, interoperable way for one agent to prove to another who it represents, what it’s allowed to do, and how it gets paid.”
The post outlined a key fix called “Know Your Agent” (KYA). The concept borrows from Know Your Customer (KYC). It calls for cryptographically signed credentials that link each agent to its principal, permissions, constraints, and reputation.
The firm added that blockchains can serve as a neutral coordination layer for agents. They offer portable identities, programmable wallets, and verifiable attestations that resolve across chat apps, APIs, and marketplaces. Without a common standard, a16z warns, merchants will keep blocking agents at the firewall.
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a16z also identified four additional gaps beyond identity: centralized control over AI governance, payment rails ill-suited to agent-to-agent commerce, the rising cost of verifying machine decisions at scale, and diminished user oversight as agents take on more autonomous workflows.
It argued that blockchain-based tools, onchain governance, programmable stablecoin payments, cryptographic audit trails, and smart-contract-enforced permissions, can close these gaps and support a more trustworthy agent economy.
The post The AI Agent Economy Has an Identity Bottleneck: Blockchain Rails Could Solve It appeared first on BeInCrypto.
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