Franklin Templeton, managing approximately US$1.8 trillion in assets, identified agentic AI as the breakthrough application that will drive mainstream blockchain adoption, according to a digital assets note published Wednesday. Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Innovation at Franklin Templeton, stated that autonomous software agents cannot pass bank identity checks and therefore must settle payments on public blockchain networks such as Solana and BNB Chain, which clear transactions in seconds compared to Visa's one to three business days. McKinsey projects agentic commerce will reach US$3 trillion by 2030, though agent-initiated payments currently operate outside existing identity verification and consumer-protection frameworks.
Kaul characterized the situation as a structural mismatch between conventional banking infrastructure and machine commerce requirements. Agentic AI refers to software that executes actions, processes payments, and makes decisions without continuous human approval. Because such agents cannot open bank accounts or complete know-your-customer verification processes, they lack access to card networks and must transact on decentralized infrastructure instead.
Franklin Templeton Describes Payment Token Mechanics for Autonomous Agents
Each autonomous agent generates a payment token that embeds rules governing merchant acceptance, maximum transaction amounts, and token validity periods. The digital assets note explained that these tokens function as programmable payment instruments designed specifically for machine-to-machine commerce.
Franklin Templeton's analysis reframes cryptocurrency adoption as a solution to the machine-payments problem rather than a replacement for human financial services. The firm manages approximately US$1.8 trillion in assets across traditional and digital investment products.
Blockchain Networks Process Thousands More Transactions Per Second Than Visa
Franklin Templeton's note provided comparative transaction processing data: Solana handles 6,284 transactions per second, Aptos processes 12,933, and BNB Chain manages 3,252, while Visa's network operates between 1,700 and 10,000 transactions per second. Kaul identified high fees and multi-day settlement windows as structural limitations of card rails for machine commerce.
Settlement speed represents a more significant performance gap than transaction throughput. Visa requires one to three business days to clear payments, while the blockchain networks cited achieve simultaneous settlement. A joint report from Visa and Artemis reached a parallel conclusion, noting that card infrastructure built for human commerce lacks the architecture necessary for agent micropayments, which require near-zero fees and near-instant finality.
Visa and Tempo Launch AI Payment Tools in March 2026
Visa's crypto division and payments firm Tempo each launched AI payment tools in March 2026. The Franklin Templeton note referenced these product releases as evidence of industry movement toward machine-commerce infrastructure, though the note did not provide technical specifications for either platform.
McKinsey's US$3 trillion projection for agentic commerce by 2030 assumes regulatory frameworks will adapt to accommodate agent-initiated transactions. Franklin Templeton's analysis acknowledged that current consumer-protection rules and identity verification standards do not cover autonomous software agents operating as independent economic actors.
FAQ
What did Franklin Templeton identify as blockchain's killer use case?
Franklin Templeton identified agentic AI as the breakthrough application that will drive mainstream blockchain adoption. Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Innovation, stated that autonomous software agents cannot pass bank identity checks and must settle payments on public blockchain networks such as Solana and BNB Chain instead of traditional card networks.
How do blockchain settlement speeds compare to Visa's payment processing?
Blockchain networks such as Solana, Aptos, and BNB Chain achieve simultaneous settlement, while Visa requires one to three business days to clear payments. Franklin Templeton's digital assets note cited this settlement gap as a structural advantage for blockchain infrastructure in machine commerce applications.
What market size does McKinsey project for agentic commerce by 2030?
McKinsey projects agentic commerce will reach US$3 trillion by 2030, according to Franklin Templeton's digital assets note published Wednesday. The projection assumes autonomous agents will conduct transactions outside existing identity verification and consumer-protection frameworks currently governing human commerce.
