Franklin Templeton, managing $1.8 trillion in assets, advised investors on April 2024 to consider cryptocurrencies and altcoins for gaining exposure to agentic artificial intelligence (AI) expansion beyond standard AI stocks.
Sandy Kaul, the firm's head of digital assets, argued that agentic AI software capable of autonomous activity and transactions will require blockchain technologies to handle micropayments for computing, data, and services. Existing card networks impose fees around 2% to 3% plus flat charges, making tiny, automated payments inefficient.
Kaul highlighted that blockchains settle sub-cent transactions instantly and automatically log them, which aligns with the needs of agentic AI agents. She said these crypto rails will likely become the foundational infrastructure for AI-driven commerce.
Blockchain and Token Demand Linked to AI Activity
Standards supporting this vision are emerging. For instance, Coinbase developed the x402 payment protocol, now part of the Linux Foundation, with participants including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Google, and Circle.
Kaul used Solana (SOL) as an example, forecasting that increased AI agent transactions will drive demand for native tokens of the chains processing these activities. She expects enterprise software adoption to lead initial growth.
She contrasted this with current AI investment trends focusing on companies aligned with AI development. Franklin Templeton recommends expanding portfolios to include cryptocurrencies and altcoins generated by blockchain applications to capture agentic AI's full potential.
McKinsey estimates that by 2030, agentic commerce could generate between $3 trillion and $5 trillion in revenues. Should a significant portion of these activities rely on blockchain, demand for digital assets supporting these networks could rise substantially, reinforcing the investment thesis for crypto assets.
This content is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.
