Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin told CNBC that AI and crypto will merge, since blockchains can supply the trust AI lacks. As of Oct. 20, Ethereum hosted 72,028 registered AI agents under ERC-8004, about 9.2% of the 783,881 registered, and held $49.6 billion in DeFi capital and over $144 billion in stablecoins. Yet monthly x402 agent payments fell from a peak of $20.5 million in November 2025 to $263,863 in September 2026, and Ethereum's main chain had settled just 644 agent payments as of Oct. 20. The article notes the registered agent count has more than doubled since May 13, when it was about 32,343, and says growth in agent payments on Ethereum could be positive for the ETH coin.
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cryptoartificial intelligenceEthereumstablecoins
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Related tickers and likely impact
ETH/USDT
• NeutralEthereum
Relevance: low
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Layer 1 |
| Market cap | $294.2B |
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 2,387.60 |
| Change that session | -0.06% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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