By 2035, AI agents are expected to surpass humans in significance on the internet, a shift already prompting reactions from giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon, according to Charles Hoskinson. Speaking at Consensus Miami 2026, Hoskinson projected that “by 2035, most searches, commerce, and activities online will be conducted by AI agents rather than people.” He warned that this transformation could destabilize current business models. “Amazon, Google, Facebook are all extremely concerned about the agentic revolution,” he stated, noting heavy investments from these companies as their existing frameworks face disruption.
AI Agents do not engage with ads or display brand loyalty, Hoskinson explained, which poses a threat to ad-reliant platforms like Google, Amazon, and Facebook. He questioned his audience: “Why is Google interested in x402?” referring to the Coinbase-backed protocol facilitating AI agent payments using stablecoins and crypto rails.
Hoskinson believes this evolution will alter cryptocurrency usage, with AI managing due diligence, transaction execution, and decentralized finance interactions. His vision aligns with that of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who predicted “very soon there will be more AI agents than humans conducting transactions,” and Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao, who forecasted they “will make one million times more payments than humans.”
Conversely, Hoskinson sees AI agents as a boon for cryptocurrencies, simplifying the user experience. He advised crypto users to avoid intermediaries and maintain control over their assets, echoing crypto’s core principle. “You must own your data, identity, and money,” he emphasized, criticizing reliance on custodial wallets and permissioned networks.
He also highlighted blockchain fragmentation as a hurdle, citing the issuance of 11 million tokens that hinder progress. “We have enough of them,” Hoskinson remarked, advocating for cooperation to fulfill crypto’s mission.
The complexity of current crypto onboarding processes is still an obstacle to adoption, according to Hoskinson, who described the process in 2026 as intricate and error-prone. He proposed account abstraction and chain abstraction as solutions to streamline user interactions while maintaining asset control.
Lastly, he noted a shift in financial institutions’ attitudes, exemplified by JPMorgan’s evolution from blocking crypto activities to launching blockchain products. “When we began, JPMorgan was shutting down accounts related to crypto; now they offer their own blockchain product,” Hoskinson concluded.