Tether CEO Predicts One Trillion AI Agents Will Use Blockchain for Payments by 2040

Highlights:

• Tether CEO predicts one trillion AI agents will use blockchain for payments by 2040.
• He believes stablecoins like USDT will power future AI agent transactions, not banks.
• Tether’s new tools aim to connect AI agents with self-managed crypto wallets easily.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said he expects a huge change in how machines handle money in the future. Speaking on the Big Brain Podcast, he predicted that by 2040, up to one trillion AI agents (like smart programs or bots) could be using blockchain to make transactions on their own, without any human help. Ardoino explained that regular banks probably won’t be ready or willing to work with these fully independent machines.

AI agents are smart software programs that can work on their own and talk to other machines without needing people. Experts believe these agents are important for the future digital economy.

Ardoino also mentioned that Tether’s wallet-development kit (WDK), released last November, is already available to help connect these bots with non-custodial (self-managed) crypto wallets. “I believe that in the future, every single AI agent will have a wallet, and it should be a self-custodial wallet. We are going to have one trillion agents in 15 years,” Ardoino said.

🤖 Introducing WDK by Tether: an open-source, self-custodial toolkit for developers to create Bitcoin and USD₮ wallets for humans, AI and robots. Built for a resilient future where your financial independence is in your hands.

Dive into the docs and get started!
Learn More:… pic.twitter.com/UpiV94saMr

— Tether (@Tether_to) November 11, 2024

Tether CEO said he doubts that big banks like JPMorgan would ever open accounts for AI agents. Instead, he believes these agents will likely use stablecoins and Bitcoin for their transactions. He mentioned that USDT is the most practical choice, as it’s already the most widely used digital asset among traders.

Tether Expands into AI to Build Open, Decentralized Tech for the Future

Tether has already started working with artificial intelligence. The company recently moved its main office to El Salvador and launched Tether Data in April 2024 to support the development of open-source AI models. Then, in May, it introduced Tether AI, which Ardoino said will support a powerful peer-to-peer network of billions of AI agents that can operate on their own. He said Tether’s main goal is to protect freedom, and that open-source, decentralized tools are key to keeping tech free from control by big companies.

https://t.co/qQkox6AfNg coming soon pic.twitter.com/1FZonsW5nq

— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) May 5, 2025

Ardoino said that Tether’s real strength isn’t just its large market share, but its core values. He said they are simply trying to make the most of the opportunity while staying true to their values and emphasized the need to keep the system open and permissionless even as commercial use continues to grow.

Stablecoin Market Set to Grow as Rules Tighten and AI Use Rises

A U.S. Treasury study from last year revealed that most crypto trading now happens through stablecoins. Currently, there are over $243 billion worth of U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins in circulation, with Tether’s USDT leading the market at over $155 billion.

Tether’s prediction comes as governments are starting to set clear rules for how stablecoins should work within the financial system. The U.S. Senate recently passed the GENIUS Act, which focuses on full backing for stablecoins and clear rules for issuers, which has created hope in the crypto industry. According to the Treasury, if these kinds of rules continue, the stablecoin market could grow past $2 trillion by 2028, helping to support wider use by machines like AI agents.

🇺🇸 US Treasury Secretary: "Stablecoins could reach $2 trillion by 2028"

During a hearing before the US Senate, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted that the market for dollar-backed stablecoins could surpass $2 trillion within three years.

The GENIUS Act, the stablecoin… pic.twitter.com/iLWYnYN3gU

— Atlas21 (@Atlas21_news) June 12, 2025