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Franklin Templeton calls agentic AI a “killer use case” for crypto rails

The firm’s paper argues blockchains are needed because legacy payment systems cannot handle the transaction volume expected as AI agents take on multi step buying and payments.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Market Structure

Franklin Templeton says agentic AI, software that can act, pay, and decide on a user’s behalf without constant check ins, is likely to become the crypto industry’s key adoption driver. The asset manager argues that traditional payment networks are structurally unfit for this next phase of autonomous commerce, and that blockchains provide a “speed gap” advantage for transactions that must be recorded and settled without a bank in the middle.

In its analysis, Franklin Templeton points to a broader shift described as moving AI from reactive chatbots to systems that can perceive their environment, plan, and execute multi step tasks. The firm says that when these agents shop, book, and pay autonomously, the underlying rails need to support the volume and speed of machine driven transactions.

The paper cites forecasts including a Bain & Company view that AI agents could account for 15.0% to 25.0% of all U.S. e commerce sales by 2030. Franklin Templeton also highlights blockchain throughput comparisons, noting bitcoin processes about 7 transactions per second and Ethereum about 75 TPS, while newer networks such as Aptos and Solana are described as recording up to 12,933 TPS and 6,284 TPS, respectively.

Franklin Templeton managing nearly $1.8 trillion in assets also argues that investors focused only on AI exposure in traditional equities may be missing direct crypto exposure. It contends capturing the economic value of the AI revolution will require investing in underlying cryptocurrencies such as Solana and Ethereum, framing agentic AI as a “killer” use case for blockchain adoption.

Sandy Kaul, head of digital assets and innovation at Franklin Templeton, said in the firm’s post that blockchain will be pivotal for agentic AI to realize its potential for consumer transactions. The outlet Decrypt reported these arguments as part of the firm’s broader case for crypto as infrastructure for autonomous payments.

Latest closeBitcoin $65,970.20 ▼0.8%|Ethereum $1,934.24 ▲0.3%|Solana $77.98 ▼0.2%

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