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Why crypto bulls think AI agents will make stablecoins the default payment layer

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(CoinDesk)

Your AI just made several payments while you read that headline. You approved none of them. Visa processed none of them. And if the crypto industry’s biggest bulls are right, that’s not a bug — it’s the entire future of the internet economy.

Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong thinks there will soon be more AI agents than humans making transactions on the internet. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao went further, predicting agents will make one million times more payments than people, all in crypto. The posts landed on the same day last week and lit up crypto X.

(CoinDesk)

The core argument is structural.

AI agents can’t open bank accounts because banks require identity verification that software cannot provide, whereas a crypto wallet only needs a private key. No KYC, no compliance review, no waiting — and that asymmetry is what Armstrong was pointing at.

But the wallet problem is only half the picture. The other half is economics.

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Agents don’t shop the way humans do. When an AI agent is executing a task — such as researching a topic, coordinating a supply chain, building a report — it might call dozens of specialized APIs in a single session.

Each call might be worth fractions of a cent, where it pays for GPU compute time, real-time data feeds, web scraping services, or hiring a sub-agent to handle translation. None of these transactions resembles anything Visa or Mastercard was designed to process.

Consider, for a moment, that this story was written by an agent, requested by a “chief” agent at CoinDesk tasked with increasing the site’s authority.

To produce it, that agent would have queried a real-time news API to verify Armstrong’s tweet ($0.002), pulled onchain data to search for volume figures ($0.004), cross-referenced press releases ($0.001), and pinged a financial context model for Visa protocol details ($0.003). It would finally generate the article at an additional cost, paying credits to another AI tool to actually write the piece.

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The total cost of reporting is under two cents with six transactions, at the current figures offered by protocols such as x402.

(CoinDesk)

In contrast, Stripe’s minimum processing fee on a single transaction is around $0.30. Running those six payments through a card network would cost more than 100 times the value of the payments themselves.

A human editor reviewing and publishing the piece might then be billed by a sub-agent that handled SEO optimization, another that ran plagiarism checks, and another that formatted for CMS software. Each micropayment is economically absurd on card rails, but trivial onchain.

This is the thesis behind x402, Coinbase’s open payment protocol that embeds stablecoin payments directly into HTTP requests — so an agent can hit a paywall, pay in USDC, and continue its task in the same interaction, no human required. Cloudflare, Circle, AWS, and Stripe are all backing it. Google’s open agent payments standard includes x402 as a settlement layer.

Every industry with high-frequency, low-value data exchange becomes a candidate.

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In healthcare, an agent managing a patient’s insurance claim pays per document retrieved from a medical records API. In logistics, a procurement agent auctions freight slots across dozens of carriers in real time, settling the winning bid instantly. In the media, AI crawlers pay per article indexed rather than negotiating bulk licensing deals. In finance, a trading agent pays a specialist model fractions of a cent per risk signal consumed.

A caveat, however, is that the infrastructure is ahead of the demand.

CoinDesk reported this week that x402 currently processes around $28,000 in daily volume, with Artemis flagging roughly half of observed transactions as artificial activity rather than real commerce. The merchants x402 was built to serve are still rare.

Meanwhile, traditional finance is not standing still. Visa launched its Trusted Agent Protocol last October, and Mastercard completed Europe’s first live AI-agent bank payment inside Santander’s regulated infrastructure last week — both on existing card rails with cryptographic verification layered on top.

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The most likely outcome is a split, where regulated commerce stays on card rails, while machine-to-machine payments — such as agents hiring agents, paying per API call, buying compute on demand — migrate to stablecoins because the economics demand it.

The open question is which bucket ends up bigger.

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Crypto World

Iran’s Telegram ban backfired, stoking crypto concerns

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Crypto Breaking News

The Iranian government’s bid to shutter Telegram in the country appears to have backfired, as millions of users find workarounds to stay online through privacy-centric tools and VPNs, according to Telegram founder Pavel Durov.

In a post on X, Durov said Tehran’s attempt to clamp down on the messaging app “years ago” has instead fueled a broader wave of circumvention. He noted that tens of millions of Iranians remain connected via VPNs and similar technologies, and he highlighted a cross-border effect as VPN-driven connectivity accelerates in Russia as well.

“The government hoped for mass adoption of its surveillance messaging apps, but got mass adoption of VPNs instead. Now, 50 million members of the digital resistance in Iran are joined by over 50 million more in Russia.”

Decentralized technologies—ranging from blockchain-based messaging to encrypted, distributed networks—are increasingly pitched as a way to counter state-imposed online restrictions and surveillance, offering users a path to private communications even when central authorities exert control.

Key takeaways

  • Iran’s Telegram ban did not end use; tens of millions continue to access the service via VPNs and related tools, per Pavel Durov.
  • The stance has produced a broader migration toward privacy-preserving and decentralized messaging technologies beyond a single app.
  • Even as governments restrict access, parallel connectivity channels such as Starlink and device-to-device mesh networks emerge as potential backstops for communication.
  • Evidence from protests in Nepal and Madagascar shows spikes in downloads of decentralized messaging apps during periods of social unrest, underscoring demand for censorship-resistant tools.
  • For investors and builders, the episode highlights a growing divergence between regulatory attempts to control information flow and a user base willing to adopt privacy-native infrastructure at scale.

Regulatory push, user resilience

Iran’s January 2026 nationwide internet blackout, enacted amid escalating protests and ongoing regional tensions, marked a decisive move to curb online mobilization. While the blackout remains in effect, residents retain some access through alternative means—most notably satellite-backed networks such as Starlink, which the government has not fully blocked—and through local, privacy-forward apps capable of wading through censorship filters.

Among the most discussed workarounds is BitChat, a messaging application built to operate over Bluetooth and mesh networks. BitChat turns each participating device into a relay node, effectively stitching a communications mesh that can bypass traditional networks and satellite backbones. Its decentralized design aims to keep conversations flowing even when centralized infrastructure is restricted.

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The broader ecosystem around decentralized technologies is also expanding to address similar scenarios elsewhere. BitChat’s architecture has drawn attention for its potential to offer an alternative communication channel when internet access is compromised. The project’s technical approach and practical uses were detailed in public repositories and whitepapers, illustrating how mesh networking can complement or substitute conventional connectivity in crisis conditions.

Decentralized messaging in the crucible of unrest

The wave of protests that swept across Nepal in 2025 and 2026 brought a notable surge in interest for censorship-evading communication tools. Cointelegraph reported a sharp uptick in BitChat downloads in Nepal during the social-media crackdown, described as a period when the government’s grip on information intensified. In the same breath, Nepalese protests were described as having a transformative political effect within the month, with the government reportedly toppled by demonstrators in that period.

Similar dynamics were observed in Madagascar, where a related surge in decentralized messaging adoption accompanied political turbulence. These patterns illustrate a practical use case for privacy-preserving and distributed communications during periods of blackout and unrest, rather than a speculative tech experiment.

Proponents argue that the trend signals more than isolated incidents. As governments seek to regulate or disable centralized platforms, users appear to gravitate toward tools that improve resilience, privacy, and autonomy. This shift aligns with a broader discourse in the crypto and decentralized tech communities about building communications layers that remain accessible despite state-level interference.

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What this means for markets, users, and builders

The episode offers a tangible case study in how regulatory pressure can inadvertently accelerate adoption of decentralized and privacy-first technologies. For traders and investors, the takeaway is not a call for quick price moves but a recognition that demand for censorship-resistant communications could expand alongside ongoing geopolitical frictions and regulatory crackdowns in various regions.

For developers and infrastructure builders, the narrative underscores several priorities: enhancing the reliability of offline and mesh-based communications, improving the security and usability of decentralized messaging, and developing interoperable layers that can bridge traditional networks with privacy-focused protocols. The convergence of encrypted messaging with crypto-inspired incentives and governance mechanisms could shape new kinds of platforms that prioritize user sovereignty and resilience over centralized control.

While the exact regulatory responses and technological adoption timelines remain uncertain, the Iranian case—paired with parallel developments in Nepal and Madagascar—highlights a clear, growing demand for alternatives that keep people connected when conventional networks falter.

As the situation evolves, watchers should monitor how governments respond to a populace that increasingly expects and deploys private, censorship-resistant channels. The next developments could redefine how citizens, developers, and policymakers think about online rights, access, and the role of decentralized technology in everyday communication.

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Source references and ongoing reporting from Cointelegraph and related coverage underscore the continuity of this trend as it unfolds across regions facing varying degrees of internet control and regulatory pressure.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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Crypto World

Telegram Has Been Downloaded Over 50M Times in Iran, Despite Ban: Durov

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Decentralization, Privacy, Liberty, Telegram, Cypherpunks, Pavel Durov

The Iranian government’s attempt to block the Telegram messaging application in the country has backfired, as users find ways to circumvent national firewalls and online controls, according to Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov.

“Iran banned Telegram years ago,” Durov said on Friday; however, tens of millions of users in the country have managed to access the application via virtual private networks (VPNs) and other similar tools, he added.

VPNs route web traffic through servers distributed around the globe to mask the true Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of users and obscure their locations. This allows individuals with VPN access to bypass national online restrictions. Durov said:

“The government hoped for mass adoption of its surveillance messaging apps, but got mass adoption of VPNs instead. Now, 50 million members of the digital resistance in Iran are joined by over 50 million more in Russia.”

Decentralization, Privacy, Liberty, Telegram, Cypherpunks, Pavel Durov
Source: Pavel Durov

Decentralized technologies like blockchain, crypto and encrypted messaging applications can mitigate or neutralize state-imposed online restrictions and surveillance infrastructure, promoting individual liberty, proponents of decentralized technology say.

Related: Global turmoil pushes uptake of decentralized messengers, social media

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Users turn to decentralized alternatives amid online blackouts

The government of Iran imposed a nationwide internet blackout in January 2026, amid growing protests and civil unrest, which is still in effect due to the ongoing war between Israel, the United States and Iran.

Residents in the country can still access the internet through Starlink, a satellite-based network, or communicate via BitChat, a messaging application that uses Bluetooth radio waves to form a mesh network between devices.

BitChat’s mesh network transforms each device into a relay node that transfers data to other devices running the application within range, bypassing online and satellite-based systems entirely.

Decentralization, Privacy, Liberty, Telegram, Cypherpunks, Pavel Durov
The components of the BitChat messaging application tech stack. Source: GitHub

The government of Nepal imposed a social media ban in September 2025 amid growing protests, causing a spike in BitChat downloads.

Bitchat was downloaded over 48,000 times in Nepal the week of the social media ban, and the government of Nepal was toppled by protestors that same month.

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The application recorded a similar download spike in Madagascar amid protests, which also occurred around the same time as the political revolution in Nepal.

Magazine: Did Telegram’s Pavel Durov commit a crime? Crypto lawyers weigh in