From Payments to AI: Why Bitcoin Is Seen as the Ultimate Settlement Layer for AI Agents

PayPal’s former CEO recently shared a viewpoint that has sparked widespread industry discussion: Bitcoin will become the native currency for AI agents, and future AI systems will operate directly on BTC. This is not just a speculative guess, but based on the profound changes happening in the payments sector. Coincidentally, PayPal’s parent company is accelerating AI commerce capabilities through the acquisition of Cymbio, reflecting the broader shift of the entire payment ecosystem into the AI era.

Why Bitcoin

This viewpoint may seem bold, but the logic is clear. When we talk about the “native currency” for AI agents, we are essentially looking for a network with the following characteristics:

• 24/7 Availability: Not limited by exchange operating hours, with automatic settlement around the clock
• Decentralization: Not reliant on a single entity, allowing AI agents to autonomously control assets
• Global Liquidity: The deepest trading volume and market recognition worldwide
• Network Effects: The strongest security and widest acceptance

From this perspective, Bitcoin indeed is the most suitable choice currently. According to the latest market data, BTC’s market cap has reached $1.78 trillion, accounting for 59.16% of the entire crypto market, with a daily trading volume exceeding $3.5 billion. Such liquidity and market dominance are unmatched by other assets.

PayPal’s AI Commerce Strategy Validates This Trend

Even more interestingly, PayPal’s latest moves confirm this direction. According to recent news, PayPal announced the acquisition of Cymbio, aiming to accelerate AI agent commerce capabilities, enabling product catalogs to be directly discovered and ordered within AI platforms like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and others. What does this mean?

Traditional payment flows are: user enters the app → searches for products → checks out. In the AI era, the payment process transforms into: AI agents directly handle discovery, decision-making, and payment within conversations. In this scenario, the payment network’s needs are no longer just user interfaces and risk control, but:

Automated settlement capabilities

AI agents need to initiate transactions autonomously without human confirmation, requiring the payment network to have high trustworthiness and automation.

Micro-payment friendliness

AI agents may frequently perform small transactions (e.g., calling an API service), which traditional payment networks’ fee models cannot support.

Smart contract integration

AI agents’ actions are driven by code and need seamless cooperation with on-chain smart contracts, an area where traditional payment networks are weak.

These requirements align perfectly with blockchain advantages, and Bitcoin, as the most stable and secure blockchain, naturally becomes the top choice.

Changes in the Market Environment

On a broader scale, Bitcoin’s role is evolving. Over the past month, from the Block upgrade to Bitcoin’s cyclical plans, Rumble’s first position, ARK Invest’s prediction that Bitcoin will account for 70% of the crypto market, to Tether launching Plasma sidechains optimized for USDT settlement, the entire market is reorienting around the theme of “Bitcoin as infrastructure.”

This is not just price speculation but an ecological-level shift: Bitcoin is transforming from “digital gold” into the “settlement layer of the AI era.”

Summary

While the statement from PayPal’s former CEO is bold, the underlying logic is sound. As AI agents become the main participants in economic activities, they require a reliable, automated, globally circulating payment network. Bitcoin, with its strongest network effects, highest market recognition, and most mature ecosystem, is becoming the best candidate for this role.

The AI commerce strategies of giants like PayPal are gradually turning this “possibility” into “reality.” The process may take time, but the direction is already very clear.