I don't understand the reasoning behind "AI agents will need to transact via crypto" - why? 

I've seen AI agents where users just auth with their own traditional payment credentials to interact with websites. Why crypto? (trying to engage in a good faith discussion)

investing & writing about consumer tech since 2016. FID #30. hosting /web2web3 

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Oh, there are several reasons:
- complex programmability: imagine a user wants to pay for some task but only have token X. The AI agent will have to create an account on that specific blockchain/layer on-the-fly to receive it and then flip it for a stable.

- privacy/zk: some users will choose for privacy to interact financially with an AI bot. So, the bot will have to use zk features and privacy coin.

- global transactions: the current financial system is not designed for international trade. Yes, we have stripe/paypal, but these solutions are highly tied to location and official documents. The scale and complexity of AI world won't fit in this slow burocractic environment. High volume real-time international micro-payments is just one example.

 - Transparency/Safety: the only environment that allows monitoring of transactions in a reliable way, are blockchains. We don't want super AI using closed systems.

- Smart contracts: most transactions will interact with smart contracts, thus needing crypto.