AI Agents Need Their Own DeFi Layer To Succeed in Financial Markets

• Over one million AI agents are expected to run on-chain by 2025
• Existing DeFi systems are misaligned with AI-driven economies, lacking the speed, stability, and intelligence layer required for autonomous financial operations.
• AI-native stablecoins (AI USDs) could create a seamless financial ecosystem for AI agents, stabilizing token economies and enabling autonomous, high-speed transactions.

We are seeing a growing interest in agentic frameworks that can seamlessly integrate web3 applications into AI agent functionalities, marked by the thought leadership of industry figures such as Eliza Labs, the developer behind ai16z.

Over one million AI agents are expected to run on blockchain networks by the end of 2025. 

But as AI agents evolve from simple bots executing pre-programmed tasks to autonomous entities capable of complex decision-making, the limitations of existing decentralized finance (DeFi) systems will become increasingly obvious. 

DeFi as it stands today was built for general-purpose cryptocurrencies and human traders—not for the sophisticated, adaptive, and fast-moving world of agentic AI.

If we want AI to thrive in financial markets, it needs its own DeFi layer, a system designed specifically for its unique needs.

Autonomous DeFi agents

We are already witnessing AI agents being able to access DeFi markets, interpret qualitative data, and execute profit-generating strategies without human oversight.

Spanning anything from robo-advisors to institutional AI agents performing tasks like risk assessment and portfolio optimization these bots will be able to analyze speeches, decode market sentiment, and adapt their strategies in real-time for things like managing liquidation risks.

Essentially, they’ll operate like hedge fund managers but faster and more precise, unlike existing DeFi bots that simply analyze quantitative data and react to price changes,

The problem lies in DeFi’s lack of an intelligence layer. The financial mechanics of DeFi are misaligned with the needs of AI-driven economies. AI agents require fast, reliable, and stable currencies to transact with each other seamlessly.

Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum or Bitcoin are too volatile and slow for this purpose. AI agents trying to execute a high-frequency trading strategy cannot be stalled by network congestion. 

Making Stablecoins Intelligent

Intelligent stablecoins could act as a foundation for AI-driven economy, allowing agents to pay for services and settle transactions with stable, AI-native currencies designed for speed and reliability. It would create a financial ecosystem where AI agents can operate autonomously. 

Referred to as “AI USDs”, algorithmic stablecoins can be issued using an AI token as a reserve asset, relying on different stability mechanisms depending on the project’s risk profile.

When minting AI USDs, one could rely on a mint-and-burn equilibrium mechanism, whereby assets in reserve fully back the outstanding dollar value of the AI USD minted, or stablecoins could be minted by using AI native tokens as collateral. 

Currently, AI tokens lack long-term utility beyond speculation, even for top-tier projects. By integrating AI tokens into stablecoin issuance, projects can incentivize holding, ensuring continued support for AI development.

This approach strengthens DeFi participation, stabilizes token prices, and aligns incentives between AI builders and their communities—laying the financial groundwork for an AI-native economy.

AI Agents Require a Different Approach

Critics might argue that building a separate DeFi layer for AI is unnecessary and that existing infrastructure can be adapted to meet these needs. But this misses the point.

AI agents don’t just replace human traders by being faster; they are completely different entities with fundamentally different requirements.

Trying to fit AI into a system designed for humans is like trying to run a Formula 1 car on a dirt road. It might work for a while, but it’s not sustainable.