Circle's Kash Razzaghi Advocates for USDC as Preferred Currency for AI Agents

In a recent appearance on the NYSE/ICE House Podcast, Circle's Chief Commercial Officer, Kash Razzaghi, introduced a new customer segment for USDC: AI agents. Razzaghi argued that these autonomous entities are increasingly favoring USDC due to its programmability, low transaction costs, and 24/7 availability.

As of mid-October 2026, Circle reported that USDC accounted for 99-99.8% of transaction value on the x402 protocol, which is specifically designed for AI-driven transactions. The company noted that there have been approximately 165 million transactions involving around 80,000 AI agents, indicating a growing interest in USDC within this sector.

Circle's Agent Stack, launched on May 11, 2026, includes tools such as Agent Wallets, an Agent Marketplace, the Circle CLI, and nanopayments, all tailored for AI agents. This suite of tools facilitates machine-to-machine commerce by enabling ultra-small transactions, which traditional payment methods often struggle to accommodate due to higher costs and onboarding challenges.

Razzaghi's insights reflect Circle's ambition to position USDC as the default settlement asset for what they term the 'agentic economy.' While the transaction numbers are impressive, the economic value of these transactions remains a critical consideration, especially given the concentration of transaction value around a single stablecoin.