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The AI Agent Economy Has an Identity Bottleneck: Blockchain Rails Could Solve It

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From NASA to Crypto: The Unlikely Journey of Benjamin Cowen

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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Strategy (MSTR) overtakes BlackRock’s IBIT after aggressive bear market BTC buying

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Strategy (MSTR) overtakes BlackRock's IBIT after aggressive bear market BTC buying

Strategy (MSTR), now holds more bitcoin than BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) for the first time since Q2 2024.

The world’s largest publicly traded BTC holder recently announced its third-largest bitcoin purchase on record, acquiring 34,164 BTC and bringing its total holdings to 815,061 BTC.

IBIT currently holds 802,824 BTC, leaving Strategy ahead by more than 12,000 BTC. While the gap is not anything meaningful in relative terms, it is symbolically important given IBIT’s rapid growth since launch. IBIT became the fastest ETF in history to reach $70 billion in assets, while IBIT ranks among BlackRock’s top revenue drivers.

Strategy held 189,150 BTC at the start of Q1 2024. IBIT surpassed it by early Q2 with roughly 273,000 BTC, compared with Strategy’s 214,400 BTC, a lead which it consistently maintained until now.

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However, the two vehicles are fundamentally different. Strategy is an operating company that uses financial engineering, including at-the-market (ATM) equity issuance, convertible debt, and perpetual preferred securities, to accumulate bitcoin in a leveraged manner. IBIT, by contrast, is a spot ETF designed to passively track bitcoin’s price, offering investors straightforward exposure without leverage or corporate risk.

IBIT has gained around 55% since listing in January 2024, while Strategy has risen roughly 250%, driven by its leveraged structure.

Notably, Strategy accelerated accumulation during the recent market downturn, as bitcoin fell over 50% from its October all-time high, while adding nearly 80,000 BTC in 2026.

The perpetual preferred equity STRC has been a key differentiator for Strategy, providing a scalable source of capital that has funded a significant portion of its recent bitcoin accumulation.

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Meanwhile, IBIT’s holdings remained relatively stable, with only a modest decline in assets under management.

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Bitcoin Price Prediction: Blackrock Big Bitcoin Bet

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BlackRock just placed its biggest weekly prediction bet on Bitcoin as its trading at above the $74,000 price support.

BlackRock just placed its biggest weekly prediction bet on Bitcoin as it is trading at above the $74,000 price support. BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF, IBIT, absorbed $871 million in net inflows last week, leading every crypto ETF on the board.

BlackRock just placed its biggest weekly prediction bet on Bitcoin as its trading at above the $74,000 price support.
ETFs Flows, Farside

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs collectively booked $1.9 billion in net inflows across the same five-day stretch, the strongest weekly haul since early February. The marquee single-session was April 17, when total ETF flows hit $663.89 million, with IBIT alone pulling in $283.96 million and Fidelity’s FBTC adding another $163 million.

Iran tensions dragged BTC briefly to $63,000 2 months ago before Saturday’s bid briefly reclaimed $78,000, with institutional buyers treating every dip as an entry.

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Bitcoin Price Prediction: Larry Fink’s $500,000 Target This Year?

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Bitcoin’s technical setup looks constructive after the consolidation. Price is holding above $74,000, up 10% in a month, with bullish consolidation building since the peak. Key resistance sits at the $78,000, and a confirmed close above that can open the door to the $80,000 breakout level.

BlackRock just placed its biggest weekly prediction bet on Bitcoin as its trading at above the $74,000 price support.
BTC USD, TradingView

The Liquidity Oscillator is showing positive Rate-of-Change signals, consistent with the global M2 money supply reversal that has historically correlated with BTC rallies.

For Bitcoin price itself, if ETF inflows sustain above $500M weekly, BTC could clear $78,000 and target $80,000, then maybe $83,000 on M2 tailwinds. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan has upgraded his 2026 target to $200,000+, citing ETF flows, MicroStrategy accumulation, and Trump’s pro-crypto executive order unlocking Wall Street participation.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink reiterated a $500,000–$700,000 long-term price target in a recent Bloomberg interview, citing sovereign wealth funds weighing 2%–5% BTC portfolio allocations as a hedge against currency debasement. It’s a structural demand that doesn’t reverse on a single FOMC meeting or a Strait of Hormuz headline.

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Bitcoin Hyper to Follow Bitcoin Path with Bigger Upside

Spot BTC is undeniably bullish right now, but the asymmetric upside that early Bitcoin investors enjoyed simply isn’t available anymore. Traders hunting for early-cycle leverage within the Bitcoin ecosystem are rotating attention to infrastructure plays building on top of BTC itself.

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is positioning as the first-ever Bitcoin Layer 2 with Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) integration, delivering sub-second finality and low-cost smart contract execution while preserving Bitcoin’s base-layer security.

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The pitch is direct: solve Bitcoin’s core limitations (slow transactions, high fees, no programmability) without abandoning its trust model. The presale has raised $32 million at a current price of $0.0136789, with 36% staking available for early participants.

Features include a Decentralized Canonical Bridge for BTC transfers and high-speed transaction execution that the team claims outperforms Solana itself on latency, and the presale has drawn attention alongside the broader Bitcoin ETF inflow narrative.

Research Bitcoin Hyper here.

The post Bitcoin Price Prediction: Blackrock Big Bitcoin Bet appeared first on Cryptonews.

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Bitcoin Price May Go Under $70K Despite Strategy’s Latest Big BTC Buy

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Bitcoin Price May Go Under $70K Despite Strategy’s Latest Big BTC Buy

Bitcoin (BTC) rose 2.66% to around $75,800 on Monday after Strategy disclosed a $2.54 billion purchase, the company’s third biggest ever, and equivalent to about 2.5 months of new BTC supply.

However, several indicators suggest the rally may fizzle out.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

Key takeaways:

  • Poor macro conditions can spark BTC price pullback if Strategy’s buying slows.

  • Bitcoin’s technical setup hints at a potential dip toward $67,000–$69,000.

Strategy may halt BTC purchases this week

Strategy funded most of its latest 34,164 BTC purchase through its preferred stock, Stretch (STRC), which generated over $2.17 billion through at-the-market share sales between April 13 and April 19.

Source: Strategy’s SEC Filings

That accounted for roughly 86% of the total amount spent, while sales of its Class A common stock, MSTR, added another $366 million.

STRC lets Strategy raise cash for Bitcoin when it trades at or above $100. Stronger prices mean easier fundraising and more BTC buying. In 2026, STRC enabled the purchases of 77,000 BTC, ten times more than all the ETFs combined, per River data.

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Bitcoin ownership YTD change. Source: River

But STRC has been trading below its $100 par value since April 15, which may limit Strategy’s ability to keep raising cash to purchase more Bitcoin this week.

STRC weekly estimates. Source: STRC.LIVE

In past episodes, pauses in Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases have coincided with BTC price slumps.

For instance, on average, BTC’s price has dipped by roughly 30% when STRC traded below its $100 par value.

BTC/USD vs. STRC daily performance chart. Source: TradingView

A 30% dip will take Bitcoin’s price to $53,000 when measured from current levels.

Source: X

The halt appears alongside weakening risk sentiment, with US stock indexes falling amid doubts over the US–Iran peace deal.

Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow Jones daily performance charts. Source: TradingView

US President Donald Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he would extend the two-week truce if no agreement is reached before it expires on Wednesday.

Any signs of an extended Middle East conflict may weigh on BTC’s prices.

BTC flag pullback hints at $67,000–$69,000

Bitcoin’s current chart structure shows classic flag consolidation, with price now drifting toward the pattern’s lower boundary. This setup raises the risk of a pullback toward the $67,000–$69,000 region in April, if support gives way.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

At the same time, downside may remain limited as the 20-day (green) and 50-day (red) EMAs continue to act as dynamic support levels. Holding above these averages would signal underlying demand, increasing the chances of a rebound.

Related: Adam Back says current demand is ‘almost’ enough to send Bitcoin to $1M

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If that happens, BTC could attempt a breakout above the flag’s upper trend line, effectively invalidating the bearish setup.

Such a move would open the door for a recovery toward the 200-day EMA (blue), currently near $82,750.

As Cointelegraph reported, breaking the resistance near $78,000 is now a top priority for the bulls.