Bitaigen Research In this article we synthesize the deep insights from Stripe’s founders on the development trajectory of AI agents, and examine the performance bottlenecks that blockchain may encounter when supporting the next generation of intelligent agents. By systematically analyzing technology trends, the piece helps readers understand the critical relationship between industry collaboration and infrastructure upgrades, thereby grasping the direction of future ecosystem evolution—a read worth savoring.
In the most recent annual letter, Stripe’s two founders—Chief Executive Officer Patrick Collison and co‑founder John Collison—reviewed the company’s overall performance up to 2025 and offered their judgments on upcoming technology trends.
Evolution and Commercial Deployment of AI Agents
The two executives point out that artificial‑intelligence agents have moved beyond mere conceptual hype and are now entering a “deployment and real‑world testing” phase. They categorize AI‑agent capabilities into five tiers:
- Web‑form filling
- Descriptive search (providing answers based on context rather than exact attributes)
According to Stripe, the industry is currently at the intersection of these first two tiers. The subsequent three tiers are:
- Persistence: the ability to remember a user’s preferences and needs;
- Delegation: acting on behalf of the user to complete purchases, order meals, and similar tasks;
- Proactivity: offering schedule suggestions or problem‑solving solutions without an explicit prompt.
“Much like the early growth path of the internet, the success of agent‑driven commerce hinges on broad interoperability. The speed at which we advance to higher tiers depends on the degree of industry‑wide collaboration,” they wrote, adding:
“If all goes well, these little entities will no longer be confined to walled gardens; they will race along open‑protocol highways.”
Forecasted Blockchain Scaling Requirements
When discussing the widespread use of AI agents, the founders stress that as these agents gradually assume responsibility for the bulk of online transaction execution, blockchain network load will increase exponentially. To meet future demand, Stripe estimates that blockchain throughput may need to scale to 10 billion transactions per second (10 B TPS)—or even higher.
They cite an example from last year: a viral meme‑coin surge caused a Bridge user’s funds to be delayed by more than 12 hours, with the per‑transaction fee inflating to 35 times its normal level. While that congestion was already severe, the transaction‑volume explosion driven by AI agents would only exacerbate such issues.
“In our view, agents are likely to soon handle the majority of internet‑wide transactions, and we may need blockchains capable of supporting more than a million—and eventually a billion—transactions per second.”
Current Performance Landscape of Blockchains
According to data from Chainspect, the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) and Solana are the two known chains that have already broken the 1,000‑TPS barrier, achieving roughly 1,196 TPS and 1,140 TPS, respectively. At peak moments, their maximum throughputs have reached 25,621 TPS and 5,289 TPS.
Nevertheless, the theoretical ceilings of these networks remain far from the target: ICP’s upper limit is about 209,708 TPS, while Solana caps around 65,000 TPS—both still a considerable distance from Stripe’s envisioned 10 B TPS.
Source: Stripe
Conclusion
In summary, Stripe believes that for blockchain to accommodate the ever‑growing transaction demand from AI agents, a leap‑frog breakthrough in scaling technology is essential. To learn more about how blockchain can support AI agents and the deep dive into the 10 B TPS ambition, stay tuned to Bitaigen’s (比特根) forthcoming reports.
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