Large corporations looking to modernize payments and AI agents performing autonomous transactions are becoming the two biggest growth drivers for stablecoins, executives from Bridge and Deus X Capital said Thursday at Consensus 2026 in Miami.
Lindsey Einhaus, who leads strategy and operations at stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, which was acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion, said the next two years will likely bring a wave of institutional adoption of stablecoins, especially for cross-border payments and internal treasury operations.
“Large institutions are looking to use stablecoins to manage cross-border flows and really collapse much of their account management into stablecoins,” Einhaus said.
He pointed to payments-focused blockchains like Stripe-backed Tempo and Paradigm as key enablers for broader adoption. Existing blockchains historically lacked features common to traditional payment systems, such as refunds, chargebacks and private transactions, he argued.
The next area of growth may come from AI-powered micropayments.
According to Einhaus, blockchain-based stablecoin rails could finally make small internet payments economically viable by eliminating costly intermediaries and reducing transaction fees. Historically, micropayments failed because transaction costs often exceeded the value transferred, while crypto payments introduced price volatility that discouraged spending.
“With native stablecoin blockchains, transaction costs will be drastically reduced,” he said.
Tim Grant, CEO of Deus
“We’re underestimating the agent payments boom that’s about to happen,” Grant said.
At the same time, he warned that the infrastructure remains fragmented across multiple blockchains and wallets, while regulation around autonomous financial activity is still evolving.
Grant took a more cautious tone overall on the pace of stablecoin adoption. While he was optimistic for the long term, he argued that the industry still faces obstacles around regulation, consumer onboarding and institutional coordination.
Still, he acknowledged that institutional sentiment has changed significantly as regulators become more supportive.
“Before, you had to pressure institutions to pay attention,” Grant said. “Now they’re pulling.”
