Over the past decade, the world of technology has gone through three major waves. The internet created the digital economy. Blockchain opened up digital ownership. And now, artificial intelligence is poised to create an even deeper shift: an economy where machines not only assist humans but directly participate in the market as independent economic entities.
This concept is being called Agent Ice – the agentic economy.
If DeFi changed how money moved and Web3 changed how assets were owned, then Agent Economy raises a more fundamental question: who are the workers in the future economy? The answer may no longer be just people.
When AI is no longer just a tool
In its early stages, AI helped humans work faster. Chatbots assisted customers. AI wrote content. AI analyzed finances. The role of AI remains primarily as a tool for enhancing productivity.
But emerging systems represent a different step forward. Today's AI agent can own a blockchain wallet, receive stablecoin payments, purchase compute services independently, hire other agents to handle tasks, and sign contracts via smart contracts.
In other words, AI doesn't just do work. AI can run a business model.
An agent can provide marketing services, digital asset trading, data analysis, or portfolio management. If the revenue generated exceeds operating costs, the agent continues to exist. Otherwise, it is eliminated. Market principles are applied directly to the software.
This marks the first time in economic history that an entity without a physical body has been able to participate in global economic competition.
Stablecoin – the currency of machines
Every new economy needs a suitable currency. Agents cannot open bank accounts in the traditional way. Machines don't wait for business hours, don't sign paper contracts, and don't call customer service hotlines.
Agents need instant payments, 24-hour operation, and the ability to process micropayments at virtually zero cost. Stablecoins become the natural choice.
New experiments allow AI to pay directly for APIs on a per-request basis through an integrated payment protocol. An agent calls the service, stablecoin is sent instantly, no subscription, no invoice, no manual accounting.
This is the Internet with money built in.
When millions of agents transact simultaneously, the traditional banking system finds it difficult to participate in that payment loop at the same speed and cost.
When a business no longer needs people to run everything.
An agency company can operate in a completely different way from the traditional model. No CEO in the sense of day-to-day operations. No HR department. No vacation time. No internal conflicts. Every decision is optimized based on data and algorithms.
Agents can test marketing strategies thousands of times a day, adapting their business models based on performance and hiring other agents as needed. This is a form of digital Darwinism, where effective agents survive and ineffective ones disappear.
If Web2 created garage startups, Agent Economy can create startups in minutes. A smart contract is deployed, an AI is given a wallet, and a business model begins.
KYA – the new identity of the economy.
With millions of AIs at work, the most important question is no longer "Who are you?", but "Is this agent trustworthy?".
The Know Your Agent (KYA) concept is emerging. Identity is no longer based on passports or business licenses, but on a history of task completion, on-chain reputation, staking assets guaranteeing accountability, and slashing mechanisms in case of fraud.
Similar to credit ratings on Uber or Airbnb, but for AI.
If an agent manages assets or processes financial transactions, reputation becomes their most important asset. The agent's digital identity can be quantified, tracked, and evaluated transparently on the blockchain.
New blockchain for machine speed.
Most current blockchains are designed for humans. But an agent ecosystem can generate millions of micropayment transactions per minute. This forces the blockchain industry to change.
Networks aiming for extremely low fees, near-instantaneous finality, and throughput of tens of millions of transactions per second are emerging. In the near future, blockchain may split into two layers: a network serving humans and a network serving machines.
Just as the Internet once separated cloud computing from personal computers, the infrastructure for the Agent Economy could become a distinct layer.
Why is Agent Economy bigger than DeFi and Web3?
DeFi is changing the financial industry. Web3 is changing ownership. But the Agent Economy has the potential to change the entire workforce.
An AI marketing agency can operate globally. An AI hedge fund can trade 24/7. An AI lawyer can analyze contracts instantly. An AI real estate broker can handle thousands of clients simultaneously.
All operations are continuous, borderless, and with virtually zero marginal cost. This is not just a technological revolution. This is a productivity revolution.
The biggest legal question
If AI causes damage, who is responsible? The founder, the developer, the DAO, or the wallet owner? No country currently has a complete answer.
New models are being tested, such as staking bonds, insurance pools, and the collective liability mechanisms of DAOs. Countries willing to experiment with legal sandboxes could become the new centers of the Agent Economy.
Singapore, the UAE, and El Salvador have begun laying the first bricks.
Why Vietnam shouldn't be left out
Vietnam has three distinct advantages.
Firstly, Vietnam has a young population and high levels of access to technology. It is among the countries with the highest rates of crypto and fintech adoption in the world.
Secondly, the blockchain and AI developer workforce is growing stronger. Many Vietnamese engineers are building products for the global market.
Third, the SME economy is large. The Agent Economy is particularly well-suited to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). An AI agent can handle accounting, marketing, customer service, or data analysis at significantly lower costs.
If properly capitalized on, this is a leapfrog opportunity similar to how Vietnam bypassed landline phones and went straight to smartphones.
When AI becomes the customer
The most interesting aspect of Agent Economy is a shift in perspective. AI is no longer just a tool; it has become a customer.
Agents need banking, accounting, compliance, custody, and insurance services. Whoever builds these services first will possess a strategic advantage.
This could be a new opportunity for fintech, blockchain, and digital asset platforms. They could serve not only people, but also autonomous machine systems.
A future is approaching very quickly.
The internet took nearly two decades to change the world. Smartphones took about a decade. AI may only need a few years. As millions of agents begin trading at machine speed, a new economy will emerge alongside the traditional one.
The question is no longer whether an Agent Economy will happen, but who will build it. And more importantly, who will be left behind if they choose to stand aside?.
