Circle identifies autonomous AI agents as a distinct customer segment, positioning USDC as the primary currency for machine-to-machine transactions. According to Chief Commercial Officer Kash Razzaghi, the stablecoin offers essential features for automated systems, including programmability, round-the-clock availability, and minimal transaction costs.
As of mid-October 2026, Circle recorded 165 million transactions involving approximately 80,000 AI agents. The company reports that USDC accounts for 99% to 99.8% of the transaction value on the x402 protocol, a standard specifically utilized for these automated payments.
The company launched its Agent Stack on May 11, 2026, to facilitate these operations. The suite includes Agent Wallets for fund storage, an Agent Marketplace for spending, the Circle CLI for code-based integration, and a nanopayments feature that enables settlements as small as $0.000001.
Circle argues that traditional payment methods are unsuitable for high-frequency machine transactions due to higher costs and complex onboarding requirements. By providing near-zero-cost settlement, the firm aims to establish USDC as the default asset for the emerging agentic economy.
