AI TRENDS | Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire Says AI Agents and On-Chain Economy Are Part of One System

Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire published a long-form essay titled “Agentic Economy,” arguing that the AI agent economy and the on-chain economy are not separate tracks but two components of a single emerging economic system. According to Foresight News, Allaire said AI provides “mechanized intelligence and labor,” while blockchain, stablecoins, and smart contracts provide “mechanized property rights, payments, settlement, and credit.” He argued that combining these elements enables AI agents to participate independently in economic activity. Allaire described the agentic economy as having three layers. The foundational layer, or monetary layer, uses stablecoins as the unit of account and the final settlement method. The middle layer, described as an economic operating system, relies on programmable smart contracts to coordinate activity, form agreements, and exchange value. The top layer, the agent execution layer, is driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing to complete real work. He said all three layers operate as software on the internet and are reshaping traditional geographically based institutions. In his view, stablecoins could replace national banking systems, smart contracts could shift enforcement from national courts to globally executable code, and AI agents could replace local labor with borderless work.