Bernstein: As Smart Contract Pay Becomes Mainstream, Circle and Coinbase Emerge as “Best Proxy Play” Beneficiaries of Stablecoin Growth

BlockBeats News, March 23rd, according to The Block, analysts from research and brokerage firm Bernstein pointed out that Circle and Coinbase are key conduits for stablecoin growth, driven by the two companies' partnership around USDC and the emerging role of stablecoins in "smart agent payments," which could become a key driver of their future growth.

Lead analyst Gautam Chhugani wrote in a report released on Monday: "We believe smart agent payments open up an upside optionality for stablecoins. This is not a factor that materially impacts demand for stablecoins today, but stablecoins might play a role in the future smart agent economy." The analyst noted that "machine payments," transactions initiated, authorized, and completed by software or autonomous devices rather than humans, are fundamentally different from automated bill pay or subscription models. It is programmatic in nature, enabling real-time decision-making, price negotiation, and instant settlement without human intervention.

Bernstein believes that stablecoins have a natural advantage in this environment due to their programmability, instant settlement capabilities, support for micropayments, and global reach. Payment logics such as escrow, conditional payments, or revenue-sharing can be directly embedded in stablecoins, allowing smart agents to complete transactions without connecting to banks or waiting for confirmations. The report also notes that transactions can settle in seconds, enabling AI agents to pay for computing power or data in real time; high-throughput blockchains and state channels make large-scale microtransactions economically viable; and stablecoins, being cross-border in nature, do not rely on SWIFT, correspondent banking systems, or foreign exchange, further reducing transaction costs.