By 2026, forward-thinking organizations won’t just have employees; they will have squads. Squads of AI agents deployed across every role and function. It sounds like the ultimate efficiency hack, but amid the rush to automate, there is a massive, expensive blind spot emerging.
The 20% Danger Zone
According to a prediction by IDC, the next few years aren’t just about growth—they are about governance. The analyst firm notes that by 2030, up to 20% of Global 1000 organizations will face lawsuits, substantial fines, and even C-suite dismissals.
The cause? High-profile disruptions stemming from AI agents running without adequate controls.
When you have autonomous code making decisions, executing tasks, and representing your brand, “trust” becomes a technical requirement, not just a value statement. How do you ensure these agents work together safely? How do you let them do business without risking the company’s reputation?
The Missing Infrastructure: Wallets for Bots
Patrick Tobler, CEO of blockchain platform NMKR, suggests the answer lies in fusing agentic AI with decentralization.
His project, the Masumi Network, operates on a core thesis: in the near future, billions of AI agents from different companies will need to interact. They won’t just share data; they will trade value.
“The difficult part now is—how do you actually have agents from different companies that can interact with each other and send money to each other?” explains Tobler.
Imagine a travel scenario. You want to attend a conference. Your personal AI agent talks to a hotel agent, which talks to an airline agent. The booking, the coordination, and the payment happen instantly. For this to work without a human bottleneck, the agents need a trustless way to transact.
Why Crypto Was Actually Built for AI
This is where the insight gets interesting for business leaders. For years, crypto has struggled with mass adoption because the user experience (UX) is complex for humans. Wallets, keys, and gas fees are friction points for people.
But for AI agents? That complexity is native code.
“For humans, using crypto… is extremely difficult,” Tobler notes. “But for agents, they don’t care if it’s difficult to use. They just use it. It’s very native to them.”
Masumi proposes a network where agents are equipped with wallets. They can send stablecoins to one another, settling transactions instantly and securely, bypassing slow, centralized banking infrastructure.
Moving Beyond the Chatbot Bubble
We are moving past the phase of “chatting” with AI. The next phase is action. As we move toward 2026, the question for founders and executives isn’t just “What AI model are we using?”
The real question is: “When our AI starts doing business with other AIs, what governance is keeping us out of the courtroom?”
The solution might just be giving your AI its own bank account.
