In today’s newsletter, Vincent Chok from First Digital unpacks the rise of “agentic finance,” where AI agents are moving beyond advice to execute financial transactions, making crypto the essential financial backend for this machine-driven economy.

Then, in “Ask an Expert,” we posed two questions to three leading AI systems — Grok, Gemini, and Claude — about AI payment use cases and the necessary steps for scalability.

Note: Responses were generated by AI assistants and reflect each model’s perspective. They should not be construed as financial or legal advice.

– Sarah Morton

AI agents in crypto: what advisors need to know

The explosive growth of AI agents

AI agents have become one of the most trending topics over the last year. A recent PwC survey of over 300 companies found that 79% are already adopting AI agents in some form. This explosive growth reflects a broader shift: AI agents are evolving from advisory roles to execution roles.

Initially deployed to help with chatbot services and copiloting roles, AI systems are now actively planning, deciding and acting on predefined parameters set by humans, including financial transactions. The result is the early formation of “agentic finance.” This is a new primitive wherein AI agents essentially execute financial actions within predefined rules such as limits, permissions and goals.

Breaking down agentic finance

Agentic finance can be understood in three layers. The agentic commerce layer focuses on discovery and decision-making. For example, an AI agent can search for the best hotel deal for an upcoming trip. The agentic payments layer handles execution, where the agent completes a transaction once approved.

Finally, the asset management layer represents the full stack, where the agent can manage portfolios, handle payments and dynamically optimize financial strategies based on real-time market trends. While this may seem as if we are giving AI agents full autonomy, that is not the case. It’s conditional delegation, wherein users retain control through constraints while offloading execution.

Theoretically, AI agents do have a use case in the financial space; however, they don’t neatly fit in with existing traditional financial infrastructure. Structurally, AI agents lack direct access to global banking rails and are designed to operate 24/7. This structural mismatch is where crypto comes into play.

Stablecoins offer AI agents access to programmable, always-on money, blockchains enable instant and global settlement, and crypto wallets provide permissionless access to funds. Essentially, these components form a financial layer that is better suited to machine-driven activity. Crypto is thus increasingly becoming the infrastructure for autonomous systems, rather than only being an asset class.

Use cases of AI agents

Early implementations are already visible. Machine-to-machine payments powered by API access and data providers have made the inter-merchant rails stronger and faster. In the consumer context, autonomous commerce has allowed users to optimize retail research, using agents to get the best deals for travel, subscriptions and shopping.

Meanwhile, in crypto-native environments, trading agents are widely deployed for portfolio management, yield optimization and trading strategies. On the enterprise side, supply chain management and vendor payments have been easily automated via AI agents, cutting down on errors and resource expenditure. At this stage, most activity remains business-to-business and infrastructure-driven, rather than consumer-facing.

Beyond use cases, AI agents also play an integral part in driving new investable categories as well as demand for crypto itself. As AI agents can’t operate on existing infrastructure rails, demand is growing for agent-native wallets, stablecoin payment rails and data or compute marketplaces.

Coinbase, for example, has launched x402, an open payments protocol designed for agent-native transactions. This shift is particularly relevant for micropayments, where high transaction volumes and low value make traditional rails inefficient. For the first time, non-human users are participating in the financial system and driving activity. AI agents have become a new class of ‘user’ for crypto networks.

Risks and future outlook

Despite the momentum, we are still in the early stages, and there are risks and limitations. Security is the primary concern, particularly around rogue or exploited agents executing unintended transactions. Questions around authorisation, liability and regulatory treatment are still under scrutiny and are being actively defined. For widespread adoption, we must build trust for users. This comes through regulatory clarity from all involved stakeholders, so projects can build with clarity and confidence while safeguarding user funds and interests.

Over the next twelve months, this technology will continue to grow and mature. Signals that matter include growth in agent-driven transaction volume, emergence of agent-native wallets and payments protocols, and deeper integration between stablecoins and AI-driven systems. Finally, regulatory clarity will heavily shape the pace and scope of adoption across different industries and fields.

In conclusion

AI agents are not a theoretical concept; they are already executing transactions in limited environments. As the trend develops, crypto is increasingly emerging as the financial backend for machine-driven economies. For now, this is an infrastructure and long-term thematic play; however, that is changing with rising adoption rates. Advisors should track it as a next-wave driver of crypto utility.

– Vincent Chok, CEO and co-founder, First Digital

Ask an Expert

This week we’re doing something a bit different. Instead of one expert, we have a panel of experts — AI experts. Below, we posed two questions to three leading AI models, asking about the present and future of AI payments. While there were common themes — especially about what’s needed for future growth — there are also some clear differences. We hope you find this experiment as fun and thought-provoking as we have.

Q1: What AI payment use cases are you seeing today?

Q2: What’s needed for AI payments to scale?

Keep Reading

• Sale price: FTX bankruptcy estate sold its 5% Cursor stake for $200,000 in April 2023 – the same price Alameda Research originally paid in April 2022
• Current value: That stake is worth approximately $3 billion at SpaceX’s $60 billion Cursor acquisition valuation announced April 21, 2026
• Return gap: 15,000x difference between realized recovery and current mark – one of the largest single missed recoveries in crypto bankruptcy history
• Original investment: Alameda Research invested $200,000 in Anysphere (Cursor’s parent company) at a $4 million valuation – the estate sold at cost with zero appreciation captured
• SBF’s prison argument: Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year federal sentence, projected in February 2026 that FTX’s net asset value would have reached $78 billion had the estate held assets through recovery
• Watch item: SpaceX must decide on full $60 billion Cursor acquisition later in 2026 or trigger its $10 billion breakup fee – the outcome sets the final mark on what creditors actually forfeited

Crypto markets sold off broadly on Thursday as traders booked profits after a week-long rally that had pushed Bitcoin back toward $80,000.

Bitcoin is changing hands at $77,955, down 1.1% over the past 24 hours, though still up 4.5% on the week and 9.9% on the month, according to CoinGecko. Ether slipped 2.8% to $2,331, turning its seven-day chart marginally negative.

Among the rest of the top ten, Solana is trading at $86, down 3% on the day, XRP is off 1.9%, and BNB is down 2% at $636. Total crypto market capitalization fell 1.6% to $2.69 trillion.

Strong ETF Bid

Despite Thursday’s red tape, the broader trend in spot ETF flows remains constructive.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $335 million on Tuesday, per Farside, the seventh consecutive session of positive flows. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounted for $246.9 million of the total, with Fidelity’s FBTC adding $56.7 million and Bitwise’s BITB contributing $15.4 million. Cumulative flows across all 11 spot Bitcoin products are now back in positive territory for the year, with total AUM above $96.5 billion.

The flows indicate a notable reversal from the first quarter, when sustained outflows tracked alongside Bitcoin’s slide from above $100,000 toward the mid-$70Ks.

Geopolitical Risks Linger

Bitcoin’s failure to push decisively through $80,000 reflects an unresolved geopolitical overhang. Iran reportedly fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, and a U.S. naval blockade in the region remains in place. Although President Trump has framed the current ceasefire as indefinite, peace talks have not progressed, and oil prices remain sensitive to regional headlines.

DeFi Grapples with Kelp Fallout

On-chain markets are still digesting last weekend’s Kelp DAO exploit. LayerZero’s post-mortem attributed the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which compromised two RPC nodes feeding the bridge’s verifier and minted 116,500 unbacked rsETH before depositing it on Aave as collateral and borrowing real WETH against it.

Aave’s risk service providers have modeled bad debt at between $123.7 million and $230.1 million, depending on how losses are allocated across rsETH holders. The protocol partially unfroze WETH on its Ethereum Core V3 market on Tuesday, and Arbitrum’s Security Council froze roughly $71 million of stolen ETH.

• Source: Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), testified before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.
• Confirmed: The U.S. government currently operates 1 node on the Bitcoin network for cybersecurity testing and network security research.
• Ruled out: The government is not mining Bitcoin – Paparo stated this explicitly.
• Context: INDOPACOM is in an active “experimentation” phase, using Bitcoin’s proof-of-work protocol as a computer science and cryptographic tool, not a financial asset.
• Watch item: Specific details of INDOPACOM’s Bitcoin research programs remain partially classified; follow FY2027 NDAA debates for potential funding expansion of blockchain cybersecurity initiatives.

Key Takeaways

• First-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue reached an all-time high of $1.10 billion, representing 21.2% growth versus prior year
• Company elevated its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast to $4.3 billion while increasing EPS projections to $10.20
• First-quarter order intake totaled $2.3 billion, driving the trailing 12-month backlog 30% higher to an unprecedented $3.3 billion
• Wall Street projects second-quarter earnings of $2.36 per share on $1.03 billion in sales — slightly below Q1 results
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish with three out of four maintaining buy recommendations and an average target of $324.50

Friday’s second-quarter fiscal 2026 financial results from Moog arrive at a pivotal moment. The aerospace and defense specialist just delivered one of its most impressive performances ever. Now comes the test: can the company sustain this trajectory?

Moog Inc., MOG-A

Analyst consensus calls for earnings of $2.36 per share alongside $1.03 billion in quarterly sales. These figures would mark impressive annual increases of 35% and 10%, respectively. However, they trail the exceptional first-quarter performance when Moog delivered $2.63 per share on $1.10 billion in revenue, surpassing projections by 22% and 12%.

The quarter-over-quarter decline isn’t catching anyone off guard. What really counts is whether leadership can preserve profitability levels and provide fresh insights on the order book situation.

That order book deserves attention. First-quarter bookings reached $2.3 billion, elevating the 12-month backlog by 30% to hit a company-record $3.3 billion. Such long-term revenue visibility stands out in this industry, offering a cushion during periods of softer near-term results.

On the heels of that exceptional quarter, management increased full-year 2026 revenue projections to $4.3 billion while boosting adjusted earnings per share guidance from $10.00 to $10.20. The company maintained its adjusted operating margin forecast at 13.4%.

High-Profile Space Contracts Boost Momentum

A standout development in Moog’s recent timeline unfolded on April 2 with the successful launch of the Artemis II mission. The company provided critical thrust vector control systems, launch abort system actuators, and various fluid control technologies for this mission.

Market participants will be paying close attention to any commentary suggesting this prominent involvement might lead to further NASA partnerships or opportunities in the commercial space sector.

Additionally, the company finalized its $63 million purchase of COTSWORKS, which manufactures ruggedized fiber optic transceivers designed for aerospace and defense applications. This transaction broadens Moog’s portfolio in high-bandwidth digital data processing for compact defense systems, and observers will seek updates on how smoothly the integration is proceeding.

Balanced Expansion Across Business Units

Moog’s diversification throughout aerospace markets has become central to its investment thesis. During fiscal 2025, Space and Defense generated $1.113 billion in revenue, Military Aircraft contributed $888 million, and Commercial Aircraft added $904 million. Each division posted gains — Commercial Aircraft topped the list with 15% growth, while the remaining two segments each expanded 9%.

This balanced, multi-segment expansion helped drive an 84% stock appreciation over the trailing 12 months, bringing shares close to their 52-week peak of $354.20. The stock currently changes hands at $297.45.

With a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69x and anticipated earnings growth of 41%, investor expectations are clearly elevated. Three of four covering analysts maintain buy ratings, with a mean price objective of $324.50 — suggesting approximately 9% potential appreciation from present levels.

Earnings estimates have remained unchanged over both the past week and the past 60 days, indicating stable analyst confidence approaching the release.

The company’s gross profit margin registers at 27.3%, and its capacity to maintain this level while expanding production volume will be closely monitored Friday.

Moog releases its second-quarter fiscal 2026 financial results on Friday, with market watchers focused primarily on margin performance, backlog composition, and potential guidance adjustments.

Tether, the crypto company best known for issuing the world’s largest stablecoin, said Thursday it has frozen $344 million worth of USDT tokens across two wallets on the Tron blockchain after receiving requests from U.S. authorities.

The freeze was carried out after authorities flagged the addresses for alleged links to illicit activity, the company said in a blog post on Thursday. The action prevented further movement of the funds.

The company did not specify the nature of the activity or who controlled the wallets. Blockchain analytics firm AMLbot said the addresses appeared in scam-related documents and posts.

The move comes as debate around the role and responsibility of stablecoin issuers in stopping funds linked to illegal money transfers is back in the spotlight. The Financial Action Task Force recently warned that stablecoins are increasingly used for illicit transactions, including sanctions evasion and money laundering. Public blockchains allow transactions to be traced, while issuers retain the ability to freeze assets under certain conditions.

The issue came into focus this month following the $285 million exploit of Drift Protocol, in which attackers moved hundreds of millions of USDC stablecoin and bridged funds across chains. Critics argued that Circle (CRCL), the issuer of USDC, could have acted faster to freeze assets and limit losses, while the company said it only takes such actions when legally required or at request by law enforcement and authorities.

Tether said it works with law enforcement when wallets are tied to sanctions evasion or criminal networks, and has supported more than 2,300 cases globally across 340 agencies in 65 countries.

Tether said Thursday it has frozen $344 million in USDT across two wallet addresses on the Tron blockchain, acting on information shared by U.S. authorities about activity tied to “unlawful conduct.”

The stablecoin issuer said in a statement that the freeze, executed in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement, prevented further movement of the funds once the addresses were identified. Tether did not specify the underlying alleged conduct.

The action lifts Tether’s cumulative cooperation with U.S. authorities to more than $2.1 billion in frozen assets, out of a global total exceeding $4.4 billion, the company said. Tether added that it now works with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries and has supported over 2,300 cases globally, including more than 1,200 tied to U.S. agencies.

“USD₮ is not a safe haven for illicit activity,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in the announcement. “When credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively.”

Ardoino added that the company combines blockchain transparency with real-time monitoring and direct coordination with law enforcement to “stop funds before they can move.”

The freeze extends a string of high-profile collaborations between Tether and U.S. authorities. The company noted that the Department of Justice has previously acknowledged its support in seizures of nearly $61 million and approximately $225 million tied to pig butchering fraud, a romance-investment scam category that is becoming more widespread.

Tether’s compliance posture has shifted markedly since 2022, when the company declined to preemptively freeze sanctioned addresses following the U.S. Treasury’s action against Tornado Cash. The issuer has since become a central player in cross-border on-chain enforcement, joining with Tron and TRM Labs in September 2024 to launch the T3 Financial Crime Unit, which had frozen more than $300 million in illicitly sourced funds as of late 2025.

The expanded enforcement footprint also coincides with tensifying U.S. regulatory pressure on stablecoin issuers. The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, requires payment stablecoin issuers to maintain on-chain freezing capabilities and comply with sanctions and AML rules, though final implementing regulations remain pending.

Tether launched its self-custodial wallet earlier this month and last week led a $150 million recovery plan for Drift Protocol following the Solana DEX’s April 1 exploit.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.