Key Points <\/p>\n
Interested in Coinbase Global, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better.<\/a> <\/p>\n Agentic AI could require blockchain-based payment systems that allow autonomous software agents to transact securely and efficiently. <\/p>\n Coinbase, Circle, and PayPal are developing digital payment infrastructure that could benefit from the growth of AI-driven commerce. <\/p>\n Stablecoins and programmable payment networks may become essential building blocks for the next generation of AI applications. <\/p>\n The\u00a0SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX)\u00a0IPO and the space sector itself are a useful reminder\u00a0about the power of a story in the growth of\u00a0stocks.\u00a0Whether an investor can\u00a0visualize the\u00a0space economy of 2040 or not,\u00a0every investor\u00a0has to\u00a0understand that the story of space is still in its\u00a0early stages. The same is true of quantum computing. <\/p>\n Yet, in both cases,\u00a0the underlying\u00a0technology has been around for years. The same can be said about artificial intelligence and\u00a0blockchain. The two\u00a0ideas are mature ideas by themselves, but\u00a0it’s\u00a0the convergence of the two that could be\u00a0a defining technological shift. <\/p>\n \u2192 MDA Space Targets US Defense Market With $620M Acquisition<\/a> <\/p>\n Defining the Roadmap <\/p>\n Someday, humanoid robots\u00a0may\u00a0handle a variety of daily tasks\u00a0for a large swath of the population. For now,\u00a0enterprise customers and even some small- and mid-size businesses have\u00a0agentic AI (i.e., AI agents). These agents allow users to\u00a0outsource and automate tasks. <\/p>\n But for many “retail users” of AI, the experience is still in a generative state. A large language model (LLM) can answer questions, write code, or generate images. But in the future,\u00a0consumers will be able to have AI serve as both a personal shopper and a\u00a0concierge. It will find the best flight and hotel and book the reservations for you. <\/p>\n \u2192 Rocket Lab’s NASA Win Tests Key Support After Sharp Pullback<\/a> <\/p>\n That will require a level of trust\u00a0and infrastructure\u00a0that’s\u00a0still being built.\u00a0But like much\u00a0that has to do with\u00a0technology,\u00a0change is coming fast.\u00a0The good news for investors is that there’s still time to get in on stocks that are key to this buildout. <\/p>\n The Purest Play on AI Agent Payments <\/p>\n Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN)\u00a0is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.\u00a0That makes it a proxy for Bitcoin and other digital assets. Not surprisingly, COIN\u00a0is\u00a0down\u00a0over 50%\u00a0in the last 12 months as the crypto winter waits for a thaw. <\/p>\n \u2192 Microsoft Solves AI’s Biggest Bottleneck With Chevron Deal<\/a> <\/p>\n But this is where the opportunity lies for patient investors.\u00a0That’s\u00a0because Coinbase holds a unique position in the digital asset ecosystem.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Coinbase has been pushing into “agentic commerce” territory directly, including work on payment protocols designed to let AI agents transact autonomously using stablecoins. <\/p>\n Coinbase is the most direct publicly traded proxy for AI agents that need blockchain rails\u2014payments, wallets, and digital assets\u2014to transact, and it’s likely to be at the forefront of that space. <\/p>\n The\u00a0Coinbase analyst\u00a0forecasts on\u00a0MarketBeat\u00a0give COIN\u00a0a consensus price target of around $250, which would be an upside of more than 60% from the stock’s closing price on June 24. <\/p>\n Built From the Ground Up for the Agentic Economy <\/p>\n If Coinbase is the exchange layer,\u00a0Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL)\u00a0may be the rails themselves. Circle is the issuer of USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin with approximately\u00a0$77 billion\u00a0in circulation as of Q1 2026\u2014a 28%\u00a0year-over-year increase. <\/p>\n In May 2026, Circle launched its Agent Stack. This is\u00a0a full suite of developer tools designed specifically for the agentic economy. The product lineup includes a\u00a0Nanopayments\u00a0protocol capable of facilitating\u00a0high-frequency, sub-cent, machine-to-machine payments, which is simply not possible on traditional banking rails. It’s\u00a0one\u00a0way\u00a0Circle is rebuilding a financial infrastructure that was\u00a0built for people, with manual onboarding and approval flows that software acting autonomously cannot navigate. <\/p>\n The business fundamentals back the thesis.\u00a0In Q1 2026,\u00a0Circle reported\u00a0$694 million in revenue, up 20% year-over-year. USDC on-chain transaction volume surged 263% YOY to\u00a0$21.5 trillion\u00a0in the quarter.\u00a0That’s\u00a0an indication\u00a0of the\u00a0stablecoin economy at scale. <\/p>\n CRCL went public in 2025 at $31 per share and briefly traded above $260 before pulling back. Shares were trading near $80 as of mid-June 2026. The\u00a0Circle analyst forecasts on MarketBeat\u00a0have a consensus\u00a0price target near $134, implying\u00a0roughly 85%\u00a0upside from current levels. <\/p>\n The stock\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0come without\u00a0risks.\u00a0Circle’s reserve income is tied to the Fed’s rate policy. Plus, the company does face\u00a0competition from Tether\u00a0as well as\u00a0regulatory uncertainty around stablecoin legislation. <\/p>\n A Sleeping Giant Wakes Up to Agentic Commerce <\/p>\n PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL)\u00a0operates\u00a0a two-sided network connecting more than 430 million active consumer and merchant accounts worldwide.\u00a0It also issues its own stablecoin,\u00a0PayPal USD (PYUSD),\u00a0now available in 70 countries and deployed across 13 blockchain networks. <\/p>\n In October 2025, PayPal launched its Agentic Commerce Services suite, including “Agent Ready,”\u00a0a payment solution designed to let AI shopping agents transact on behalf of consumers\u00a0and “Store Sync,” which makes merchant catalogs discoverable by AI agents. <\/p>\n PayPal also\u00a0acquired\u00a0Cymbio, a multi-channel orchestration platform, to deepen that capability. The company has since partnered with Hey Savi to launch the first agentic commerce app in the U.K. <\/p>\n PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin is also being extended into AI infrastructure finance. <\/p>\n Through a partnership with USD.AI, PYUSD is being used to fund GPU purchases and data center development\u2014denominated in stablecoin, disbursed directly into PayPal accounts. <\/p>\n The\u00a0PayPal analyst forecasts on MarketBeat\u00a0show a consensus Hold, with a\u00a0consensus\u00a0price target around $56. That suggests healthy upside from current levels,\u00a0but it may underweight PayPal’s optionality in the agentic commerce buildout. The risk here is execution: PayPal is a large company\u00a0attempting\u00a0a significant pivot in a competitive market. Patient investors may find the risk\/reward compelling. <\/p>\n The Risk Investors Need to Understand <\/p>\n In fairness, many people would consider\u00a0AI’s current limitations (vis-\u00e0-vis making payments) as a good sign.\u00a0There will be resistance to the idea and\u00a0likely regulation. <\/p>\n However, many consumers swore they would never do online banking. Meanwhile, at least one generation\u00a0is\u00a0likely to go through life\u00a0without\u00a0writing a single\u00a0check or\u00a0knowing how to do\u00a0so.\u00a0That’s\u00a0the\u00a0way technological shifts work. <\/p>\n Along the way, there were many stocks that made investors significant profits, even the investors who\u00a0didn’t\u00a0“trust” the technology.\u00a0This is why investors with a\u00a0long time\u00a0horizon\u00a0should\u00a0look at stocks leading the way in building the financial infrastructure for agentic AI. The future will\u00a0be\u00a0here\u00a0before we know it, whether we can see it or not. <\/p>\n The article “3 Stocks Building the Future of Agentic AI Payments<\/a>” was originally published by MarketBeat. <\/p>\n