AI Agents and stablecoins appear to be two parallel tracks, working together to reshape the future of finance. In the past, financial transactions were fraught with "friction"—long settlements, high fees, and complex manual approvals. Now, stablecoins are eliminating these frictions, while AI Agents are pushing these "frictionless" transactions into an unprecedented high-frequency world. What fundamental changes does the human financial system need when capital flows and intelligent decision-making reach their peak?

Please see the focus of the 23rd issue of the Cobo Stablecoin Weekly Report:

• Federal Reserve's October Payment Innovation Conference: AI and payment, stablecoin applications will be discussed in parallel. Why might stablecoins become the natural currency for AI Agents?

• Stripe Announces Tempo: The launch of a payment-specific public blockchain—what industry signals does this action release?

Market Overview and Growth Highlights

The total market capitalization of stablecoins has reached $288.119 billion, with a week-on-week increase of $4.813 billion. In terms of market share, USDT continues to dominate, accounting for 59.21%; USDC ranks second with a market cap of $72.109 billion, representing 25.03%.

Blockchain Network Distribution

Top Three Networks by Stablecoin Market Cap:

1. Ethereum: $153.131 billion

2. Tron: $81.643 billion

3. Solana: $12.223 billion

Top 3 Fastest Growing Networks of the Week:

1. Falcon USD (USDf): +24.58%

2. M By M^0 (M): +15.30%

3. Circle USYC (USYC): +12.49%

Data from DefiLlama

Entering the Federal Reserve Agenda: The Payment Prospects of AI × Stablecoins

Stablecoins have already built a high-speed track for cross-border payments, and the arrival of AI Agents may push the usage frequency of this track to its limits. Imagine if everyone had multiple dedicated AI Agents automatically handling various tasks for us; this would inevitably generate a continuous and massive demand for payments. Such demand cannot rely on traditional payment channels; only stablecoins can support real-time settlements at this scale and frequency. The Federal Reserve has keenly recognized this trend, and at the upcoming payment innovation conference on October 21, it will place "AI and Payments" and "Stablecoin Applications" as core topics, indicating that these two directions have entered the mainstream policy agenda. Although they have not been directly merged into "AI + Stablecoin Payments," the alignment of trends is almost self-evident.

The synergy between AI and stablecoins is almost "natural." AI agents are borderless, potentially utilizing computing power from Japan, purchasing digital goods from Brazil, and paying developers in India, while the banking system is inherently nationalized and currency-specific. Stablecoins unify the currency format, providing low-cost, real-time cross-border settlements, making global payments as seamless as local transactions. Importantly, the operational model of AI itself involves numerous micropayments and condition-triggered logic; a single task may be broken down into hundreds of API calls, each requiring automatic settlement and revenue sharing. Credit cards and transfers are entirely unsuitable for this frequency; the programmability of stablecoins and smart contracts can turn payments into "intelligent actions," allowing for automatic payments upon task completion and automatic settlement of call volumes.

On a deeper level, payments for AI are not just about capital flow but also about information flow. Traditional payment records only contain amounts and timestamps, lacking context; however, stablecoins on the blockchain inherently possess traceable data and real-time reading attributes. For AI Agents, payment data itself is an asset that can be trained and optimized. This means that stablecoins not only solve payment execution but also provide intelligent potential that traditional systems cannot support.

As a result, the financing market has begun to place bets. This week, PayPal Ventures led a funding round for AI payment infrastructure company Kite. Its core product, Kite AIR, can provide identity verification, risk control barriers, and programmable payment tracks for AI, directly transplanting the "compliance and security modules" from traditional payments into AI scenarios, making AI agents trustworthy and controllable economic entities.

In the past, PayPal has connected Venmo with the PayPal network, expanding consumer and merchant access; it also launched the PYUSD stablecoin and "Global Venmo," laying the groundwork for global distribution and low-cost settlements. Kite provides the security and execution layer for AI agents, while PayPal offers stablecoins and distribution networks. The combination of the two is forming a prototype of an automated payment network driven by AI agents.

Stripe Launches Tempo, Payment-Specific Public Blockchain Debuts

After multiple rumors and job postings, Stripe officially announced the launch of Tempo, a payment-specific public blockchain, confirming speculation about its "self-built public chain." The official positioning of Tempo is as a Layer 1 blockchain specifically designed for payments, aiming to bridge the performance gap between traditional public chains and real-world payments. While Bitcoin and Ethereum operate at tens of TPS, Stripe can handle over ten thousand transactions at peak times. Tempo claims to support one hundred thousand TPS, sub-second settlements, is EVM compatible, and can use various stablecoins to pay Gas fees. In the initial phase, it will adopt a validator selection process to prioritize performance and security before gradually decentralizing, addressing external concerns about centralization and compliance.

Unlike most public chains that seek to find landing scenarios from infrastructure to applications, Tempo has been tied from the start to specific applications such as cross-border clearing, merchant payments, tokenized deposits, and AI agent payments. The collaboration lineup includes banks, merchant platforms, and fintech companies: Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, Shopify, DoorDash, Revolut, Visa, Nubank, Mercury, and others. The official also introduced the concept of "Agentic Payments"—allowing AI Agents to autonomously complete payments on-chain. This means that once Tempo is launched, it could potentially handle real business from large institutions, focusing on the segments where stablecoins have the most advantages—cross-border flows, merchant settlements, and agent payments, which aligns with the recent regulatory focus, including that of the Federal Reserve.

From a strategic perspective, after integrating wallet access and compliance infrastructure, Stripe has incorporated the clearing aspect into its system with Tempo, directly competing with Visa's clearing advantages. Interestingly, Visa has not chosen to oppose this but has joined as a partner. The reason may be that the two have different positions in the stablecoin ecosystem; Visa's strengths lie in its global merchant network and brand, rather than on-chain performance. Its approach is to connect multiple chains (Ethereum, Solana, Tempo) through VTAP, directing them to its merchant system to maintain its core position. Stripe is taking a different path, making Tempo a "stablecoin neutral layer" to attract the native liquidity of all stablecoins. Both paths ultimately aim to seize the rights to global payment liquidity. This also means that, besides Visa, another directly affected participant is Circle—Tempo and its stablecoin network Arc may compete directly for the rights to global payment liquidity.

Regulatory Compliance

Ukrainian Parliament Passes Cryptocurrency Legalization and Taxation Bill in First Reading

Key Points Overview

• The Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) supported the first reading of the cryptocurrency legalization and taxation bill with 246 votes, proposing an 18% income tax on profits from digital assets and a 5% military tax, with a temporary tax rate of 5% for fiat currency exchanges in the first year;

• This bill will bring Ukraine's crypto tax system closer to crypto-friendly countries, exempting taxes on transactions between cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, although the regulatory authority (whether the central bank or the National Securities and Stock Market Commission) has yet to be determined;

• Ukraine ranks eighth in Chainalysis's 2025 Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index, excelling in centralized value reception (retail and institutional) and DeFi value reception, the latter gaining traction in Eastern Europe.

Why It Matters

• This bill will create opportunities for Ukraine to attract crypto investments and facilitate the repatriation of overseas assets for domestic crypto enthusiasts, aiding economic recovery and market modernization. Crypto tax legislation has become a global trend, with Denmark, Brazil, and the United States advancing related policies in the past year, indicating that digital assets are gaining widespread acceptance globally.

India Stuck in Bureaucratic Deadlock, Falling Behind in Asian Stablecoin Race

Key Points Overview

• Aishwary Gupta, Global Head of Polygon Payments and RWA, pointed out that India's stablecoin regulation is stuck due to inter-departmental shirking of responsibility, with no government department willing to take on regulatory duties;

• Gupta estimates that if India integrates stablecoins into international payment processes, it could save $68 billion annually, but regulatory uncertainty prevents banks from taking action, while 80-85% of top crypto talent has migrated overseas;

• Meanwhile, other Asian countries are rapidly advancing: Japan has licensed the issuance of the JPYC yen stablecoin, South Korea has proposed a Korean won stablecoin bill, and Hong Kong launched a stablecoin regulatory system in August.

Why It Matters

• The global economy is shifting towards programmable currencies and tokenized assets, and India has one of the largest Web3 developer and user bases in the world, but the regulatory deadlock has left it lagging in this geopolitical competition described as a "crypto cold war."

European Central Bank President Calls for Addressing Risks of Non-EU Stablecoins

Key Points Overview

• European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has called on policymakers to address regulatory gaps for stablecoins, particularly those issued outside the EU's MiCA framework;

• Lagarde emphasized that non-EU stablecoin issuers must comply with "robust equivalent regulatory regimes" to operate in the EU, including allowing investors to redeem their holdings at face value and requiring issuers to provide full reserve backing;

• ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone expressed concern that US stablecoin policies could lead to a transfer of euro deposits to the US, further strengthening the dollar's role in cross-border payments.

Why It Matters

• As the US implements the GENIUS Act to establish a stablecoin framework, major global economies are competing for dominance in the stablecoin market, and the EU needs to strengthen regulation to protect the euro's position.

EU to Propose RWA Tokenization, Regulators Emphasize Balancing Innovation and Investor Protection

Key Points Overview

• Natasha Cazenave, Executive Director of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), stated that tokenization has the potential to transform markets but must develop within a framework that protects investors and maintains financial stability. An advisor to the European Commission revealed that a proposal including elements of financial instrument tokenization will be presented in December;

• The global market for tokenized assets is approximately $600 billion, with Europe accounting for more than half of the global tokenized fixed income market, which grew to $3.5 billion last year. However, most projects remain small-scale, low liquidity, and experimental, and Europe may fall behind the U.S. and Asia in the pursuit of perfection;

• The EU will enhance the DLT pilot mechanism to make it "more useful," overcoming inter-country barriers and addressing the fragmentation of 27 small capital markets, focusing on the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) rather than developing a "MiCA 2.0" regulatory framework.

Why It Matters

• Traditional financial institutions' attitudes toward blockchain have shifted from hesitation five years ago to acceptance, with the EU viewing blockchain as a key technology for integrating decentralized capital markets. Regulators are striving to balance financial innovation with investor protection, and the DLT pilot mechanism provides a regulatory sandbox to test different approaches under controlled conditions, preventing Europe from falling behind in the digital asset competition.

South Africa Plans to Open Payment Systems to Non-Bank Institutions

Key Points Overview

• The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) plans to propose in the first half of next year to allow non-bank institutions to access the National Payment System (NPS), ending the monopoly of commercial banks;

• Currently, non-bank payment platforms must partner with commercial banks to clear and settle payments. The central bank believes that increasing access will promote competition, efficiency, innovation, and financial inclusion;

• Global non-bank institutions are accelerating their entry into real-time payments, such as Walmart planning to launch real-time bank payment options to avoid high card interchange fees and improve cash flow and operational efficiency.

Why It Matters

• Opening the payment system will fundamentally change the financial landscape in South Africa, allowing non-bank innovators to directly participate in payment infrastructure, enhancing market competitiveness and service efficiency.

Yen Stablecoin Launch Timely Ahead of Bank of Japan Rate Hike

Key Points Overview

• The Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan may approve the first yen stablecoin as early as this fall, with Tokyo fintech company JPYC planning to register as a remittance business and launch a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the yen;

• Top bankers and economists expect the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to raise interest rates in the fourth quarter, with Hokuriku Financial Group's head Hiroshi Nakazawa indicating that the BOJ may hike rates in October or December, following two rate increases in July last year and January this year;

• Japanese government bond yields have risen to decades-high levels, with the 30-year bond yield exceeding 3.2% and the 10-year bond yield reaching 1.64%. The yield spread between Japanese and U.S. 10-year bonds has narrowed to 2.62%, the lowest since August 2022, suggesting a potential appreciation of the yen.

Why It Matters

• The anticipated rate hike by the Bank of Japan is expected to enhance the attractiveness of the yen and yen-denominated assets. BTC/JPY has dropped 8% and formed a technical top reversal pattern, making the launch of the yen stablecoin timely.

New Product Dispatch

Bybit Launches Cryptocurrency Debit Card in Europe

Key Points Overview

• Bybit, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally, has launched a debit card across the European Economic Area (EEA), allowing users to spend digital assets via the Mastercard payment network;

• The debit card supports cryptocurrency payments such as Bitcoin and USDC, can connect to Apple Pay and Google Pay, and users can also withdraw cash at ATMs, fully compliant with the European MiCAR regulatory framework;

• Bybit is running a promotional campaign: new users in September can receive 20% cashback on spending (with a minimum deposit of $100 in cryptocurrency), a €5 reward for their first transaction, and subscription rebates for services like Netflix and Spotify.

Why It Matters

• Over 2 million Bybit cards are already in circulation globally, and expanding into the European market allows the exchange to enter a market with increasingly clear regulatory rules, reflecting a critical development moment for the crypto industry due to regulatory clarity and increased institutional adoption.

Catena Labs Launches ACK-Lab Developer Preview, Building Trust Infrastructure for AI Agent Commerce

Key Points Overview

• Catena Labs (the company building the first AI-native financial institution) has launched the ACK-Lab developer preview, based on the open-source Agent Commerce Kit (ACK) protocol, providing three core functionalities for AI agents: cryptographic identity verification, secure wallets, and executable policies;

• Two demonstration projects are provided: one showcases an agent autonomously executing a simulated exchange transaction from USDC to SOL, while the other demonstrates an agent negotiating access rights in a data marketplace and automatically finding reciprocal prices within policy parameters;

• Developers can register agents in five minutes at ack-lab.catenalabs.com, use Replit to experience agent trading, adjust policies to observe different outcomes, and all transactions leave an audit trail.

Why It Matters

• Existing financial infrastructure is not designed for AI agents, and Catena Labs is using the ACK protocol to build an AI-native financial institution. ACK-Lab allows developers to experience these open protocols without building from scratch, laying the foundation for secure and efficient financial transactions by AI agents in the future.

Visa Opens MCP Server, Accelerating AI Agent Commerce Development

Key Points Overview

• Visa announced on Thursday that it has opened access to its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server production environment, allowing developers to connect AI agents directly to Visa's Smart Commerce API, reducing what previously took weeks of custom development to just hours;

• The company also launched the Acceptance Agent Toolkit, enabling non-technical teams to generate invoices, create payment links, and run analytics through simple natural language commands, achieving common payment functions without writing code;

• Visa's Senior Vice President of Global Growth, Birwadker, stated that several large retailers are exploring pilot projects for the holiday season, with the MCP server serving as a secure integration layer that standardizes the interaction between agents and Visa services, aiming to extend Visa's brand trust into the agent commerce space.

Why It Matters

• E-commerce is shifting from preventing malicious bots to embracing AI agents representing consumers. Visa builds trust in agent commerce through authentication, standardized data, and security frameworks, making agent commerce as ubiquitous and reliable as card payments.

Market Adoption

Ripple Introduces $700 Million RLUSD Stablecoin to Africa, Piloting Extreme Weather Insurance Project

Key Points Overview

• Ripple is collaborating with Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card to distribute the dollar-pegged RLUSD stablecoin to businesses and institutional users across the African continent, providing stable digital dollars for cross-border payments, liquidity, and on-chain settlements;

• RLUSD is set to launch by the end of 2024, issued by a trust company regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services, with a current supply exceeding $700 million on the Ethereum and XRP ledgers, usable for financial operations, remittances, and as collateral for tokenized assets like commodities or securities;

• Mercy Corps Ventures is testing a climate risk insurance program based on RLUSD in Kenya, including a pilot that automatically releases funds in response to drought conditions based on satellite data, as well as rainfall insurance that triggers payouts for extreme weather events.

Why It Matters

• Stablecoins are becoming a cheaper and faster alternative to traditional payment channels, especially in emerging markets where currency and banking service reliability is limited. Residents in some parts of Africa are already using digital dollars like USDT for savings or cross-border transfers, and the entry of RLUSD provides institutional users with a regulated alternative, addressing the challenge of obtaining stable liquidity in local currencies.

Ethena's USDe Stablecoin Supply Surges to $12 Billion, Exceeding 15% of USDC

Key Points Overview

• USDe has emerged as a strong competitor challenging the dominance of USDC and USDT, with its unique selling point as a yield-bearing crypto-native stablecoin, offering an annualized yield of 9%-11% through delta-neutral hedging strategies;

• USDe maintains its stablecoin peg by keeping a delta-neutral strategy between ETH/BTC collateral and short futures positions, generating yields from positive funding rates in the current rising market environment;

• The supply expansion is primarily driven by complex yield amplification strategies: users stake USDe as sUSDe, tokenize it on Pendle, and create recursive lending loops through Aave to achieve leveraged yields, with a significant amount of USDe locked in Pendle and Aave.

Why It Matters

• The explosive growth of USDe demonstrates the immense appeal of innovative stablecoin designs in the current market environment, challenging the dominance of traditional non-yielding stablecoins. Its innovative mechanism based on ETH/BTC collateral and futures hedging allows stablecoin holders to earn significant yields while maintaining price stability. However, this ecosystem's reliance on leverage and recursive lending raises concerns about sustainability—if funding rates turn negative or market conditions worsen, it could trigger a chain liquidation risk, similar to patterns observed in previous DeFi cycles. The growth of USDe reflects the genuine demand for high-yield stablecoin assets in the current bull market but also serves as a reminder for market participants to be wary of systemic risks from over-leveraging. This complex yield amplification strategy represents the forefront of DeFi innovation but could also become an amplifier of future market volatility, warranting close attention from regulators and market participants.

Macro Trends

Galaxy Digital CEO Predicts AI Agents Will Become the Largest User Group for Stablecoins

Key Points Overview

• Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz predicts that AI agents will become the largest users of stablecoins in the near future, operating instead of through traditional payment methods;

• Novogratz illustrates that in the future, AI agents may autonomously purchase groceries for users, understanding their dietary preferences and dieting needs, and completing transactions using stablecoins, which is expected to trigger explosive growth in stablecoin transaction volumes;

• This prediction aligns with market trends: some tech companies are exploring stablecoin payments, and Visa has expanded the types of stablecoins supported by its settlement platform, with 90% of institutional participants using or exploring stablecoins.

Why It Matters

• As the Coinbase development team predicts that AI agents will become the largest users of Ethereum, the Web3 space is accelerating the construction of dedicated infrastructure for AI agents.

Financial Times: Stablecoins Will Force Financial System Modernization

Key Points Overview

• U.S. stablecoin legislation has caused global ripples, with many countries concerned that dollar-backed stablecoins will reinforce the dollar's dominance in international payments, and the European Central Bank warning of potential loss of monetary sovereignty;

• Stablecoins are revealing inefficiencies in the modern financial system, demonstrating how new technologies can create efficient, low-cost domestic and cross-border payment methods while exposing central banks and currency trust crises;

• The best response strategy is not to restrict the use or issuance of domestic currency stablecoins but to develop more robust and inclusive domestic payment systems, reduce cross-border payment friction, and enhance trust in domestic central banks and currencies.

Why It Matters

• Stablecoins are prompting improvements in financial markets, forcing commercial banks and central banks to elevate their service levels, which will become their true legacy.

Citi: Stablecoins and AI Expected to Drive Post-Trade Settlement Transformation

Key Points Overview

• Citi's latest survey shows that by 2030, 10% of global market trading volume will be conducted through tokenized assets, primarily driven by bank-issued stablecoins, with the Asia-Pacific region leading in adoption due to strong retail crypto demand and regulatory support;

• 86% of surveyed institutions are testing AI technologies for customer onboarding processes, and 57% are piloting AI specifically for post-trade processing, focusing on scenarios such as customer onboarding and post-trade reporting;

• As the industry faces the workload of transitioning to a T+1 settlement cycle (settlement one business day after the trade date), technology-driven automation will help institutions meet the challenges of accelerated settlement.

Why It Matters

• Citi's "Evolution of Securities Services" white paper (based on a survey of 537 market participants) indicates that the global post-trade industry is entering a new transformative phase driven by digital assets and AI. Bank-issued stablecoins will serve as a primary driver, enhancing collateral efficiency and fund tokenization, while AI will further improve post-trade efficiency. As market participants accelerate the adoption of digital assets and implement generative AI in operations, the industry is at a critical juncture of significant transformation. This integration reflects the trend of modernizing financial infrastructure, from automating asset services to enhancing shareholder engagement and corporate governance, with the collective vision of global institutions focusing on the same core theme, marking a deep integration of traditional financial infrastructure with emerging technologies that will reshape the trading and settlement processes of global capital markets.

Report: Check Fraud Risk is 31 Times Higher than Real-Time Payments

Key Points Overview

• Only 2% of businesses report RTP or FedNow real-time payment fraud, while 63% report check fraud, with ACH and wire fraud rates at 38% and 30%, respectively;

• Despite data proving that real-time payments are safer, 78% of financial institutions still choose to implement real-time payments in a receive-only mode, limiting their value; 85% of payment professionals expect an increase in real-time payment fraud;

• Real-time payment system designs include push architecture, API-level security, and instant transaction visibility, while the UK's recipient confirmation technology has reduced fraud by 60%, and the U.S. is deploying similar protective measures.

Why It Matters

• Financial institutions' excessive risk concerns regarding real-time payment systems hinder adoption, necessitating a mindset shift to leverage this, in fact, the safest payment channel.

Capital Layout

Utila Raises $22 Million, Triples Valuation to Meet Surge in Stablecoin Infrastructure Demand

Key Points Overview

• Crypto infrastructure provider Utila has completed a $22 million funding round led by Red Dot Capital Partners, nearly tripling its valuation in six months, expanding its Series A total to $40 million;

• Utila offers a digital asset operations platform designed for enterprises, handling payments, fund management, and trading functions, with monthly transaction processing exceeding $15 billion, serving clients including payment providers, digital banks, and asset management firms.

Why It Matters

• The stablecoin market has surpassed $280 billion, becoming a killer application for blockchain technology, with retail giants like Walmart and Amazon exploring the use of stablecoins. Utila plans to leverage the new funding to accelerate its expansion into emerging markets in Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Obita Secures $10 Million Funding to Build Stablecoin-Based Cross-Border Payment Network

Key Points Overview

• Cross-border payment and digital finance network company Obita has completed a $10 million angel funding round, which will be used for R&D, compliance infrastructure development, and market expansion, accelerating the deployment of its stablecoin-based cross-border payment network;

• Obita is building a blockchain-native payment network under its "Obita Mesh" framework, integrating enterprise-grade compliance systems, cross-border clearing networks, and unified fund management tools to address industry pain points such as high foreign exchange costs, settlement delays, and insufficient fund flow transparency;

• The company will initially focus on high-growth markets in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, primarily serving cross-border trade, e-commerce, and supply chain platforms.

Why It Matters

• With the rise of global stablecoin legislation and compliance advancements, cross-border payments are undergoing a revolutionary transformation. Obita's funding reflects investors' recognition of the importance and potential of stablecoin-based solutions in the global financial system. As noted in a PYMNTS report, the parallel operation of cryptocurrencies and traditional finance over the past decade is breaking down, with stablecoins being embedded as a digital settlement layer in the financial system, providing a more efficient architecture for international fund flows than traditional networks. This represents a technological competition around settlement means, with stablecoins offering a more streamlined architecture for international fund transfers. Obita focuses on providing low-cost, real-time settlement regulatory compliance solutions for enterprises through compliant stablecoins, integrating the revolutionary potential of blockchain technology into actual global capital flows, representing an important direction for innovation in cross-border payment infrastructure.

AI Company Kite Secures $18 Million Funding Co-led by PayPal Ventures to Build AI Agent and Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure

Key Points Overview

• AI company Kite has completed an $18 million Series A funding round co-led by General Catalyst and PayPal Ventures, bringing its total funding to $33 million, to expand its stablecoin-based autonomous agent trading platform;

• Kite's flagship product, Kite AIR (Agent Identity Resolution), provides AI agents with verifiable identities, policy protection, and programmable payment rails, enabling them to use stablecoins for authentication, payments, and interactions;

• Through integration with Shopify and PayPal, any merchant can choose to enable discovery features for AI shopping agents, with purchases settled through on-chain stablecoins, avoiding high transaction fees associated with traditional payments. Kite positions itself as the default stablecoin payment layer for autonomous agents.

Why It Matters

• The "agent network" infrastructure built by Kite marks a critical convergence point between AI and crypto payments. The application prospects of stablecoins in AI economic models are vast, as their instantaneous settlement and low-cost characteristics can support billing between agents, micro-subscriptions, and machine-speed business activities. This infrastructure will change the way AI interacts with the financial system, providing the necessary payment channels for the emerging agent economy. As autonomous AI agents become more prevalent in commercial scenarios, Kite's solution addresses three core challenges: authentication, policy compliance, and settlement, and is expected to become an important bridge connecting the AI revolution with blockchain finance. This funding reflects strong investor confidence in the integration of the AI agent economy and stablecoin payments, with PayPal's strategic investment particularly indicating that traditional payment giants are actively positioning themselves in this emerging field.

Reflect Money Secures $3.75 Million Funding to Launch Solana Yield-bearing Stablecoin USDC+

Key Points Overview

• Reflect Money announced the completion of a $3.75 million funding round led by a16z crypto CSX, with participation from Solana Ventures, Equilibrium, BigBrain VC, and Colosseum, while launching its new flagship yield-bearing stablecoin USDC+ on Solana;

• The Reflect protocol addresses the issue of traditional stablecoins relying on off-chain custodial systems to obtain interest rates by eliminating idle assets and removing intermediaries to achieve 100 times capital efficiency, allowing stablecoins to enhance the efficiency of their issuance networks;

• The protocol allows users and developers to earn yields from the blockchain's primary infrastructure in stablecoin form, enabling developers to launch their own yield-bearing stablecoins without custodial overhead.

Why It Matters

• Reflect Money's funding and the launch of USDC+ represent an important innovative direction in the stablecoin space—on-chain capital efficiency. Compared to traditional stablecoins, yield-bearing stablecoins can generate passive income for holders while maintaining price stability, addressing the opportunity cost issues faced by crypto asset holders over the long term. As the DeFi ecosystem matures, capital efficiency has become a key competitive point, and Reflect's solution provides users with a yield mechanism that does not require trusting intermediaries by directly integrating stablecoins with on-chain yield sources.

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