US pushes stablecoins to attract global capital via AI agents

The United States is advancing stablecoin expansion to capture global capital as AI agents begin making financial decisions. Panelists suggest that while the stablecoin market has plateaued at $300 billion, the transition of real-world assets to on-chain networks could drive a massive reverse flow of capital into the US system.

The United States is showing active movement toward the expansion of stablecoins, driven by the emergence of AI agents and structural changes in capital markets. Analysis suggests that as AI begins to act on behalf of humans in financial decision-making, stablecoins will serve as the core network beyond being mere payment tools.

In a recent discussion hosted by The Man Who Explains the Economy (Kim Kwang-seok TV), CEO Jeong Gu-tae, spokesperson Kim Dong-hwan, and Professor Kim Gwang-seok discussed the direction of US government stablecoin policy and future changes in capital markets. The panelists interpreted the reason the US is pushing stablecoins, despite internal opposition and concerns over losing control, from the perspective of the "interest of the entire US economy."

The Emergence of AI Agents: "They Will Handle Financial Decisions"

The panelists agreed that the advancement of AI technology is the key driver that will cause an explosion in demand for stablecoins. They forecast that AI services, which handle minor daily tasks for humans—much like the "Bot" service recently introduced by Meta—will expand into the financial sector. The Meta Bot service mentioned in the video acts as a secretary that reads a user's emails to handle small decisions humans would otherwise perform, such as searching for, planning, and booking travel destinations.

Professor Kim Gwang-seok predicted, "When AI agents reach the stage of making daily decisions based on human habits, they will also act on behalf of humans regarding financial investment decisions." He explained, "An era will come where you entrust a certain amount of money to an AI and it manages assets automatically, but this is impossible in the current traditional finance (TradFi) network. For AI to perform payments and asset management, a network based on digital assets like Bitcoin or stablecoins is essential." The analysis suggests that if personalized robo-advisor models transition to stablecoins alongside the easing of institutional barriers, a rapid transition will be possible due to the programmable nature of the currency.

CEO Jeong Gu-tae also emphasized that stablecoins will be the most optimized currency for the AI era. "While previous stablecoin discussions assumed human intervention, we must now consider currency to be used by machines (AI)," Jeong said. "Transactions led by AI will occur on a scale unimaginable to humans, and stablecoins are the most optimized currency for machines to use."

Stagnant Stablecoin Market Cap: "Expanding Use Cases is Key"

The stablecoin market is currently in a period of stagnant growth. Regarding why the market cap has entered a plateau after rapidly growing to the $300 billion level, the panelists pointed to the "limitations of usable assets." While some viewed the growth as having stopped due to the influence of the Clarity Act, the prevailing analysis is that the issue lies in use cases rather than legislation, given recent trends such as rising Bitcoin prices following innovation exemption measures by the SEC.

Professor Kim Gwang-seok analyzed, "It seems the current limit for stablecoin usage is around the $300 billion mark. To exceed this figure, there must be more 'something' that can be purchased with stablecoins." The "something" refers to financial products that tokenize real-world assets (RWA) or various asset management products that AI agents can operate. In the current DeFi sector, RWA-classified products such as vaults are already emerging.

In fact, once the RWA market opens and existing financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and MMFs (Money Market Funds) move on-chain, demand for stablecoins is expected to expand naturally through a virtuous cycle. The analysis suggests that the scale of capital the US can attract through stablecoins will be on a completely different level than before.

US Government Strategy: "National Interest Over Control"

It is inevitable that the US government faces opposition from the central bank or existing financial establishments while promoting stablecoins. This is because the spread of stablecoins could weaken the influence of the central bank's monetary policy. The panelists shared the view that central banks worldwide will inevitably dislike stablecoins that move outside of their control.

Jeong Gu-tae explained, "The Trump administration is pushing stablecoins because of the belief that it serves a greater interest for the entire United States." He cited the example of the Trump administration quickly passing the DeFi-ness Act to grow stablecoins while its support was high in the early stages of its term. He also evaluated that the SEC's announcement of an "innovation exemption measure" for a five-year term, despite strong internal opposition, was a grand decision to allow companies with new systems, different from existing institutional companies, to enter the market.

Ultimately, the core of the discussion is that at the turning point where the real economy and capital markets are reorganized based on crypto, the US is taking a strategy to draw global capital into its own system through stablecoins. Kim Dong-hwan emphasized, "More than 70% of US GDP is consumption, and in South Korea, it reaches 65–70%. If the payment and settlement area transitions to crypto, the perceived scale will be beyond imagination." The forecast is that the scope of consumption expenditure for the entire population of 50 million people could be incorporated into the digital asset network, moving beyond the perceived scope of the 15 million stock investors.

Source: original video (YouTube)