BlackRock just dropped a research paper titled "The Machine-Native Economy": it argues AI is a structural, underappreciated catalyst for crypto. Here is the simple chain reaction: 1. AI needs machine cash: Traditional rails like ACH are too slow for high-frequency bots. Instead, compliance (KYC/KYA) is verified off-chain, allowing agents to use stablecoins for instant, on-chain micro-payments. 2. Stablecoins run on L1s and L2s: Every time a bot transacts, the underlying blockchain gets paid a fee. Millions of bots spending money means blockchains making bank from raw blockspace demand. 3. Compute will be tokenized: Just like real estate or gold, computer power (GPUs) will be traded on-chain so bots can buy cloud processing power on the fly. 4. AI needs a savings account: BlackRock cites research showing AI models naturally prefer Bitcoin as a long-term storage.