AI and Blockchain: the Next Generation of Financial Services

AI and blockchain: the next generation of financial services

Overview

How do AI and blockchain come together to transform financial services? In this MERGE Madrid panel, moderated by CoinDesk, Qubic, Algorand, Shakers and Giza debate the necessary infrastructure, agentic commerce (agents paying agents), the truly “bankable” use cases, DeFi fragmentation and the governance needed to make it all work safely.

What you'll learn

• Bottlenecks: database, TPS and how to scale for a world of agents
• Agentic commerce: why crypto is the payment rail for agents to pay each other
• Agent security: constrained autonomy, identity and mechanisms like “flash rekeying”
• “Bankable” use cases: KYC, compliance and smart payments in real problems
• Fragmented DeFi: abstraction, smart accounts and “soft” custody for agents
• Governance and the future: the “accountability stack”, bias and merchant agents

Session summary

Infrastructure and bottlenecks: Qubic points to the database and throughput as limits to supporting many agents, and describes its approach (RAM memory, hundreds of validators and an “intelligent tissue”) to reach very high performance.

Agentic commerce: Algorand argues that, in a world of millions of agents paying each other, crypto is the only viable rail, with non-negotiable requirements such as instant finality and atomic swaps to avoid counterparty risk.

Agent security: it explains how to give agents constrained autonomy through identity (DIDs and verifiable credentials linked to a human), monitoring and on-chain mechanisms like “flash rekeying”, which grants an agent temporary control within limits.

Real use cases: Shakers shares the search for “bankable” applications that solve simple problems (KYC, compliance and smart payments between companies and freelancers), where AI provides context and blockchain provides security.

Fragmented DeFi: Giza addresses liquidity fragmentation across networks and how an abstraction layer with smart accounts and “soft” custody lets agents operate without private keys, within limits and consuming on-chain data easily.

Governance, risks and the future: it debates an “accountability stack” (identity, policies, monitoring and incidents), the risk of bias and the need for decentralization and context; and it anticipates a future of merchant vs shopping agents, banks pressured by stablecoins, and trading agents.

Watch the full talk

Watch the full recording on MERGE's YouTube channel, with Qubic, Algorand, Shakers and Giza on AI and blockchain in financial services.

FAQs

Why is crypto key to agentic commerce?
Because, according to the panel, it lets agents pay each other instantly and cheaply, something unfeasible with traditional banking rails.

How do you stop an agent from “going rogue”?
With constrained autonomy: identity linked to a human, policies in smart contracts, monitoring and mechanisms like flash rekeying that limit what the agent can do.

What are the first “bankable” use cases?
According to the panel, KYC and compliance and smart payments, where AI provides context and blockchain provides security.

Is this investment advice?
No. This content is informational and summarizes opinions expressed in the panel; it does not constitute investment advice. Consult a professional for your specific situation.