TechFlow News, May 24: According to a CoinDesk report, crypto trading firm Keyrock released a report stating that between May 2025 and April 2026, AI agents executed over 176 million transactions on blockchains, settling more than $73 million. Since 76% of agent transactions fall below the traditional card payment fixed fee threshold of $0.30, while blockchain settlement costs amount to only fractions of a cent, crypto-based payment rails are emerging as the preferred infrastructure for machine-to-machine microtransactions.
Currently, 98.6% of machine payments are settled in USDC, underscoring Circle’s central role in the crypto payments space—but also introducing concentration risk tied to a single issuer. Coinbase, Stripe, Google, and Visa have each launched their own machine-to-machine payment systems, accelerating the formation of a competitive landscape.
Regarding market size forecasts, Gartner projects that AI agents will mediate $15 trillion in transactions by 2028, while McKinsey estimates that agent-driven commerce in retail alone could reach $3–5 trillion by 2030. Keyrock notes that the pace of infrastructure deployment signals this market is moving beyond the experimental phase.
