HashKey Group has released its third whitepaper on the Web3 economy at the Web3 Festival in Hong Kong, outlining how artificial intelligence (AI) agents could reshape on-chain finance, tokenization and market structure in what it calls the “agent economy.”
The report, titled On-chain finance and tokenization in the era of the agent economy, argues that existing financial infrastructure cannot support always-on, machine-to-machine activity and will need to be rebuilt on blockchain rails. HashKey chairman Xiao said the paper examines how AI agents will assume roles in production, collaboration and trade, and how blockchain infrastructure must evolve to support this emerging digital workforce.
Shift toward an agent-driven financial system
The whitepaper frames AI agents as active participants in economic activity rather than passive tools. It analyzes how value creation, institutional design and business functions could change as autonomous systems trade and collaborate alongside humans.
According to the research, the rise of AI agents demands financial systems with:
- higher automation
- lower operating costs
- faster settlement speeds
Traditional account-based systems, designed for manual auditing and centralized clearing, are described as poorly suited to handling the frequent, small-value transactions executed autonomously by machines.
Blockchain as the operating layer: granularity, automation, unified ledger
To address these constraints, the report positions blockchain as the core operating layer for the agent economy. It highlights three main areas of utility:
- Granularity – Tokenization can break rights and value into fine-grained, programmable units, enabling flexible ownership, access and revenue-sharing structures.
- Automation – Smart contracts can self-execute trading, profit-sharing and compliance logic without manual intervention.
- Unified ledger – Distributed ledgers can provide a single, shared system of record that combines clearing and settlement, allowing multiple parties to transact within one structure.
The paper envisions a transition away from double-entry bookkeeping and traditional real-name accounts toward distributed ledgers and cryptographic addresses. Under this model, “trading is settlement,” with automated processes completing accounting, distribution and settlement simultaneously, reducing the role of intermediaries and operational delays.
Dual-token and identity frameworks for AI agents
For the first time, HashKey introduces a “dual-token” framework to structure the economic activity of AI systems:
- AI tokens – units that represent computational consumption, effectively paying for AI workloads and processing.
- Blockchain tokens – programmable value units used to transfer and allocate economic value.
This framework is designed to coexist with HashKey’s previously developed three-token model, which incorporates soulbound tokens (SBTs). In the agent economy, SBTs are used for:
- digital identity
- permission control
- reputation tracking for AI agents
The report underscores that the bottleneck for AI agents is shifting from intelligence to identity. While automated systems already dominate some segments, such as algorithmic trading, there is still no standard way for these non-human entities to prove authorization and reputation across different platforms.
Ongoing evolution of on-chain finance and tokenization
The whitepaper is the third in a research series that has tracked key developments over the past three years:
- the rise and use of stablecoins
- institutional-grade real-world asset (RWA) applications
- blockchain’s role as a foundational tool for managing digital economic activity
The latest report notes:
- Stablecoins now function primarily as settlement layers in on-chain markets.
- Real-world assets are increasingly integrated into blockchain-based markets through tokenization.
RWA tokenization is described as continuing across three major categories:
- currency tokenization
- traditional financial assets (such as bonds and funds)
- physical and alternative assets
By integrating these asset classes into blockchain platforms, HashKey expects real-world business systems to link more tightly with digital counterparts, forming a closed-loop economic environment.
Market RWAs and stablecoin settlement
The concepts outlined in the paper are tied to current on-chain market data. The report highlights:
- On-chain value of tokenized real-world assets grew about 30% in the first quarter of 2026, reaching roughly USD 27.5 billion.
- Tokenized U.S. Treasuries surpassed USD 13.4 billion in early April 2026, driven largely by institutional demand.
- Stablecoins reached an estimated market capitalization of around USD 315 billion as of April 2026.
- Stablecoins processed around USD 35 trillion in transaction volume in 2025, functioning as the primary settlement layer for on-chain finance, even though day-to-day commercial payments remain limited.
Implications for market structure and Web3 development
As these layers mature, the report notes that market participants are shifting focus to protocols and platforms that can connect AI systems to financial infrastructure. Priority areas include:
- verifiable digital identity solutions for non-human agents
- low-cost, automated payment rails for global machine-to-machine transactions
- platforms that support atomic, or “trading-is-settlement,” execution
HashKey argues that these developments could reduce counterparty risk, compress settlement cycles and lower reliance on traditional intermediaries.
HashKey’s strategic focus
HashKey Group said it will continue to build projects in:
- on-chain financial infrastructure
- stablecoin solutions
- RWA tokenization initiatives
- agent-based economic models
The long-term objective, according to the group, is to strengthen the commercial capabilities of Web3 and better align on-chain activity with real-world economic flows.
HashKey Holdings Limited, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under stock code 3887.HK, operates across Asia as a digital asset firm providing technology, asset management and financial infrastructure services in the blockchain sector. The firm positions its research as a roadmap for traders, institutions and technology providers looking to adapt to an AI- and agent-driven financial environment.
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