As artificial intelligence (AI) agents increasingly participate in economic activities, the underlying financial infrastructure is poised for a fundamental transformation. Jordi Visser, former managing director at Morgan Stanley and current head of AI Macro Nexus Research at 22v, argues that AI agents will become the key catalyst that unlocks Bitcoin's true potential, positioning the cryptocurrency as the neutral settlement rail for the emerging machine economy.
Why AI Agents Prefer Bitcoin
Visser explains that as AI agents intermediate transactions and payments, they demand higher standards of security and immutability from the underlying network. Traditional fiat systems rely on centralized institutions and closed architectures, making them vulnerable to persistent probing by advanced AI. “In a world where agents are participating in economic activity alongside humans, Bitcoin’s network could become even more powerful because it offers a neutral, global, liquid rail that both people and machines can recognize,” Visser emphasized.
He further notes that Bitcoin’s decentralized and unconfiscatable nature makes it the natural choice for AI agents. Unlike fiat platforms that can be seized, frozen, or manipulated by central authorities, Bitcoin operates without a single point of failure. This property becomes essential when machine-to-machine transactions scale beyond human oversight.
Claude Mythos Exposes Legacy Vulnerabilities
Visser’s thesis is grounded in recent demonstrations of AI capabilities. Reports about Anthropic’s latest AI model, Claude Mythos, reveal that the model can identify architectural flaws in banking systems, design attack vectors, and bypass security controls autonomously. This confirms that next-generation AI agents will act as security auditors capable of exploiting weaknesses in legacy networks. Visser contends that once agents detect the inherent risks of fiat systems, they will rationally migrate to Bitcoin for value transfer, accelerating the adoption cycle.
He reiterates: “Bitcoin doesn’t need a new story. It needs the world to enter the conditions it was built for.” Those conditions—privacy, censorship resistance, and permissionless access—are now being driven by the proliferation of autonomous agents.
Bitcoin as 2026’s Best Performing Asset?
Earlier this year, Visser predicted that Bitcoin would be the best performing asset of 2026. The rise of AI agents, he argues, only strengthens that outlook. AI is not just reshaping value storage but also redefining how value is moved. As machines begin transacting directly with each other, Bitcoin’s network effects as the only globally accessible, permissionless settlement layer will be amplified.
While some analysts question whether Bitcoin can maintain its lead over programmable blockchains like Ethereum in the AI economy, Visser insists that the ultimate need of AI agents is inalienability—an attribute that Bitcoin possesses more robustly than any other digital asset. Simplicity, durability, and the longest track record give Bitcoin a unique trust advantage when agents themselves face adversarial environments.
As AI agents start executing transfers, payments, and asset management in financial markets, Bitcoin’s dual identity as “digital gold” and a neutral settlement network will be revalued. Visser’s forecast provides a new narrative for Bitcoin bulls and highlights the structural opportunities emerging at the intersection of AI and crypto finance.