Fidelity questions if AI agents will actually boost blockchain value

The report, authored by senior research analyst Max Wadington, argues that the current investment thesis for crypto and AI may be overly optimistic. Rather than assuming agent activity will naturally flow to public chains, Fidelity points to the superior performance, lower costs, and regulatory clarity offered by established banks and payment networks. These traditional platforms already possess the merchant distribution and identity systems necessary to support autonomous agents, leaving public blockchains at a competitive disadvantage.

Fidelity highlights a disconnect between adoption and revenue, noting that high-frequency payments by agents may benefit stablecoin issuers rather than native tokenholders. Data from the last 180 days shows that trading generated 49 times more Ethereum revenue per dollar than payments. Consequently, the firm suggests that agents managing capital—through lending, borrowing, and liquidity provision—offer a more sustainable path to profitability than simple payment processing.

Furthermore, the ease of development provided by AI could paradoxically commoditize blockchain features, making it difficult for individual networks to maintain technical differentiation. As coding becomes cheaper, competitive advantages will likely shift toward harder-to-reproduce qualities like deep liquidity, established trust, and regulatory compliance. With AI also lowering the barrier for attackers to find and exploit software vulnerabilities, Fidelity posits that security will emerge as a central competitive moat rather than a baseline requirement. Investors are advised to look beyond transaction counts and track where agents actually deploy capital.