> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.s3t.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # AI May Be Crypto’s Most Important Use Case Yet - URL: https://www.s3t.org/ai-may-be-cryptos-most-important-use-case-yet/ - Published: 2026-10-04T01:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-04T01:00:00.000Z - Author: Ralph Perrine - Tags: Machine to Machine Payments, MPP, machine native economy, Tokenization, social trading *The AI buildout is creating problems that crypto was designed to solve* S3T PodCast Oct 3 2026 0:00 /838.2171428571429 1× For investors and tech leaders who shifted their attention from crypto to AI in the past year or so, it may now be worth looking back. Not because another Bitcoin rally necessarily signals a return of the old crypto trade, but because the AI buildout is beginning to create problems that digital-asset infrastructure was designed to solve. As enterprises confront rapidly growing AI usage, agent-driven transaction volumes, vendor concentration and demands for greater control over models and data, they are increasingly adopting open-weight models and model-agnostic architectures rather than relying exclusively on a handful of frontier providers. This sets the stage for a diverse economy where autonomous software will increasingly need to buy data, compute and services, move very small amounts of money instantly, and potentially own or exchange machine-readable claims on real-world assets. BlackRock's latest paper describes this convergence as the emerging **“machine-native economy”**: AI supplies machine-native intelligence while digital assets can supply machine-native money, ownership and settlement. The opportunity therefore could be much larger than just another crypto cycle. The more interesting question for investors is whether parts of the blockchain, stablecoin, tokenization and programmable-finance stack are becoming essential infrastructure for the next stage of AI—and, if so, **where the economic value will *actually* accrue.** Yale's new [research on the AI Premium](https://news.yale.edu/2026/07/13/analysis-380-trillion-ai-tokens-reveals-how-technology-transforming-financial-markets?ref=s3t.org) shows that significant value is starting to accrue within a specific range of value chains. But early signals we discussed below indicate that **value will not continue to accrue in the same ways and places.** Why? Because AI will expand beyond being simply a corporate efficiency tool to being a commerce enablement platform. AI + Crypto to replace a large array of transactional arrangements and enable entire categories of new ones. That is what we need to gain a foundational understanding of in this segment. ### Is Uptober back? Developments in the past few weeks has people talking about "Uptober" a sort-of consistent pattern where sometime around October, crypto becomes bullish again, or starts to move to a higher market cap. There certain has been movement: Bitcoin rolled around in the 60s for most of the summer but in recent weeks went into the 70s and at time of writing is near the mid 80s. Alt coins are up as well. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/1e/c71eed42-6fd8-496e-9a70-8c65b93c91e7/content/images/2026/10/image.png) [Crypto Market Cap as of Oct 3 2026](https://www.s3t.org/cmc/) It's anyone's guess as to how high this goes or how long it lasts, but some are noticing **what might be different about this bull phase**, if that indeed is what materializes. ### 3 Drivers: Social Trading, AI Agents & Tokenization In this [Unchained interview](https://unchainedcrypto.com/why-the-crypto-market-cap-could-reach-50-trillion-this-cycle/?ref=s3t.org), Crypto Banter CEO Ran Neuner provides a spot-on history of crypto's bull markets and the shortcomings that ultimately made each one fizzle. He notes 3 rising factors that could propel a new bull market to new highs *this time*: **#1\. Social trading** as exemplified by Hyperliquid, Pump.fun and other crypto players. This in Neuner's view is basically a bigger and better dopamine industry that combines social media with casinos: social media gives people dopamine hits for getting likes etc. Casinos do the same. In both cases, when you win, get likes, etc your genius gets a small dose of validation. Crypto's new social trading combines easy investing / gambling with the social media element - others can see your trades and decide whether to follow them or not. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/1e/c71eed42-6fd8-496e-9a70-8c65b93c91e7/content/images/2026/10/image-1.png) [Pump.fun welcome screen](https://pump.fun/?ref=s3t.org) **#2\. AI agents that will require machine to machine payments.** These realtime micropayment patterns are not compatible with traditional ACH and card networks; blockchain finance companies have built better rails that are already being adopted because they faster and cheaper. The diagram below depicts the [Machine Payments Protocol](https://blog.bytebytego.com/p/ai-agents-can-think-now-they-can?ref=s3t.org) that bridges MCP with payment methods. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/1e/c71eed42-6fd8-496e-9a70-8c65b93c91e7/content/images/2026/10/image-3.png) [Machine Payments Protocol](https://blog.bytebytego.com/p/ai-agents-can-think-now-they-can?ref=s3t.org) **#3\. Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization** \- digital representations of real assets (houses, stocks, paintings, financial contracts of a variety of sorts, etc) and how these are enabling new kinds of trading and risk taking. The diagram below shows the architecture of [the Swift - Chainlink partnership](https://chain.link/blog/tokenized-real-world-assets?ref=s3t.org) for the transfer of tokenized value over public and private blockchains. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/1e/c71eed42-6fd8-496e-9a70-8c65b93c91e7/content/images/2026/10/image-2.png)](https://chain.link/blog/tokenized-real-world-assets?ref=s3t.org) [Courtesy of Chainlink](https://chain.link/blog/tokenized-real-world-assets?ref=s3t.org) ### Get ready for the Machine Native Economy Neuner is not the only one noticing the convergence of AI and digital assets: Blackrock's new paper "[The Machine Native Economy](https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/literature/whitepaper/the-machine-native-economy.pdf?ref=s3t.org)" notes a common similarity between the tokenization architectures of LLMs and blockchains: while they have different functions, "both workflows translate real-world inputs into formats that machines can use natively." Other key callouts from this paper: - *"The rise of agentic AI and machine-to-machine payments will likely increase demand for blockchains and other programmable payment infrastructure; stablecoins, native cryptoassets, and other on-chain assets can serve as machine-native instruments for payment and settlement across these rails."* - Traditional methods such as ACH and card networks are *"less suited to always-on, very low-value transactions requiring programmable execution."* - As AI agents become more capable and ubiquitous, Blackrock anticipates that *"standardized claims on compute capacity could become a significant digital asset use case for financing and programmable settlement"* Blackrock concludes that the **relationship between AI and digital asset adoption remains "underappreciated",** and expects that AI will be a "structural catalyst for digital asset adoption" and that likewise digital assets have to the potential to be a key facilitator of the AI economy. If this gives you visions of AI agents starting their own businesses or trading strategies using their computer power as collateral, you may not be far off the mark. For years we have noted that crypto - for all of its craziness and potential for misuse - really comes down to a new set of financial building blocks for building a better more functional economy. That hasn't prevented a lot of silliness and scammy behavior, but I think its important not to lose sight of the fact that for every scam headline, there are dozens of other individuals and teams working outside of the spotlight on compelling ways to make finance better. ### Financial literacy & innovation One thing I've noticed: Crypto has developed a set of podcasters that comment on the macro economic environment - as managed by governments and central banks - in essence they are *reviewing and grading the declining performance* of governments and traditional finance, and explaining the evolution finance to a non-financial audience. Its the first time in history for an interesting mix: - a relatively larger group (estimates suggest that up to half of Americans own / have owned some amount of crypto) owned a significant amount of capital, - had their own money and capital on the line - ie real skin in the game, not unengaged idle philosophers, and crucially - were NOT of Wall St or Central Bank inner circles, thus not incented to be cheerleaders for government issued money (fiat) and/or centrally regulated finance. I think this has created a new learning center and flywheel that is helping to propel several kinds of change that are important to understand: - Increase in financial literacy: helping more and more non-economists learn how to scrutinize the financial actions of governments and central banks, and how to apply fresh thinking to how the economy could and should work. - Increase in financial innovation: many of the most attentive members of this audience, some of the podcasters, and frequently their guests, are either investing in crypto projects, experimenting in novel portfolios and assets, or actively building some element within the new architecture of digital finance. The image below is a typical compare contrast message shared by crypto enthusiasts. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/1e/c71eed42-6fd8-496e-9a70-8c65b93c91e7/content/images/2026/10/image-4.png) [Courtesy of Cryptocruchapp](https://www.instagram.com/p/DPg7fmKj3DB/?ref=s3t.org) ### The opportunity lens: who is paying attention and who's not The financial architecture of the world is being redesigned from the ground up in ways that are hard to overstate. The finance industry is going through profound change. Watch the finance related segments - banking, insurance & risk management, credit, asset management and so on - **and take note of which ones are paying attention *and which ones aren't*.** Those who recognize the early signals and take proactive steps to reposition themselves are likely to inherit the market share and assets of those who don't. The next decade is going to be more fun for some than others. Ralph PS. Some extra curricular reading I came across: Humans see in AI the promise of immediate effortless knowledge. Its a very old fascination as evidenced by **this weird medieval forerunner of LLMs:** [Artificial Intelligence: Ars Notoria and the Promise of Instant KnowledgeCenturies before Neo instantly mastered Kung Fu in The Matrix, medieval scholars found a shortcut to years of difficult study: a magical manuscript that promised to fast-track advanced learning. Anne Lawrence-Mathers investigates the Ars notoria, its supposed powers, and the demonic influence it had upon some users.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/1e/c71eed42-6fd8-496e-9a70-8c65b93c91e7/content/images/icon/android-icon-192x192-e69cb4f5-fda7-4112-94f7-e922a9f22f39.png)The Public Domain ReviewAnne Lawrence-Mathers![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/1e/c71eed42-6fd8-496e-9a70-8c65b93c91e7/content/images/thumbnail/dedupmrg1191555822_IE4927965_FL5354893-edit-thumb-1c36e709-730a-4008-a3b5-48807bd5d524.jpg)](https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/ars-notoria/?ref=s3t.org) --- *Opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official positions of companies or organizations those individuals may be affiliated with. Not financial, investment or legal advice, and no offers for securities or investment opportunities are intended. Mentions should not be construed as endorsements. Authors or guests may hold assets discussed or may have interests in companies mentioned.* *(c) 2026 All Rights Reserved. No part of this may be copied or shared without permission.*