OpenClaw Takeover & the Agentic AI Revolution

Written By Early Riders

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction and Context Setting

02:13 - Market Sentiment and Price Action

07:12 - Tether's Position and Strategic Moves

13:12 - Erebor's National Banking Charter and Industry Implications

27:39 - The Future of Banking and Digital Assets

30:16 - APIs and the Evolution of Financial Services

33:15 - Stablecoins and the Acceleration of Crypto Adoption

35:23 - The Transformation of Financial Services through Digital Assets

39:00 - Tokenized Cash and the Role of CME Coin

43:59 - The Rise of AI Bots in Financial Transactions

47:58 - Bitcoin vs. Stablecoins: The Future of Digital Currency

51:02 - Decentralized Infrastructure and the Future of Tokenomics

Bitcoin hovers around $70,000 following last week’s sell-off, while the Coinbase Super Bowl commercial drew widespread boos. Tether scaled back fundraising plans but accelerated strategic investments in custody and tokenized gold. Palmer Luckey’s neobank Erber, secured a national banking charter and Visa reported stablecoin volumes surging 4.6x quarter-over-quarter. Meanwhile, AI agents are beginning to favor Bitcoin for autonomous transactions, pointing toward a future where digital currency becomes essential infrastructure for machine-to-machine commerce.

Tether Retreats from $20B Raise but Doubles Down on Strategic Investments

Despite scaling back fundraising ambitions, Tether demonstrated its dominance through calculated moves across custody, commodities, and compliance infrastructure.

  • Tether reduced its planned capital raise from $20 billion to $5 billion while maintaining a $500 billion valuation.

  • Tether invested $100 million in Anchorage Digital, partnering to launch USAT as a Genius-compliant stablecoin targeting US markets.

  • Tether invested $150 million into gold.com, expanding its global access to tokenized physical gold and diversifying reserves beyond US Treasuries.

 

The Banking Charter Race: Erber Joins Elite Group with National Approval

Palmer Luckey’s Erber, received a US national banking charter, joining a select group of digital asset firms reshaping what it means to be a bank in 2026.

  • Erber targets three underserved market segments: defense contractors, digital asset firms, and AI companies. These sectors require specialized lending, custody, and borderless payment capabilities.

  • The company plans to maintain 60% of assets in cash equivalents and liquid short-term instruments, positioning itself as “the most conservative bank in the industry”.

  • Backed by Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, and defense-tech leaders, Erber brings institutional credibility to digital asset banking infrastructure.

  • The convergence of banking and stablecoin infrastructure is fundamentally API-driven, replacing legacy COBOL systems with programmable money movement.

 

Stablecoin Velocity Accelerates as Traditional Finance Wakes Up

Payment volume data and new banking partnerships reveal stablecoins transitioning into essential financial infrastructure.

  • Visa reported stablecoin volumes reaching a $4.6 billion run rate, which is up nearly 4.6x from September of last year and 18x from January of last year.

  • Rain became the first non-bank entity to achieve Visa primary issuer status, reducing settlement times from 3-4 days (traditional credit cards) to just one day using stablecoin rails.

  • Singapore-based PAVE Bank raised $39 million from Wintermute, Tether, and other digital asset firms to offer deposit accounts, international payments, treasury management, and instant settlement without lending out client assets.

  • Q4 2025 marked the biggest quarter for digital asset VC funding since 2022, with most capital flowing to late-stage financial services companies rather than early-stage infrastructure.

 

AI Agents Begin Using Bitcoin as Native Internet Currency

Hands-on experimentation with autonomous AI agents revealed why Bitcoin is emerging as the preferred payment method for machine-to-machine transactions.

  • OpenClaw and similar AI agent frameworks enable individuals to deploy autonomous systems that manage tasks, create accounts, and execute complex workflows without technical knowledge.

  • These agents prefer Bitcoin for microtransactions, because it requires no bank account, KYC, or intermediary approval, making it the native currency of automated internet systems.

  • Third-party services already accept Bitcoin payments to solve CAPTCHAs and perform human verification tasks on behalf of AI agents building online infrastructure.

  • Users can isolate agents on separate machines with dedicated wallets, creating self-sovereign AI assistants that compound learning over time, while maintaining full user control over memory and authentication.

 

Quote of the Week

“FinTech fundamentally was just lipstick on a real fat nasty pig, which is the banking rails. They just do not work. What it looks like to be a bank is fundamentally shifting because of the Genius Act and stable coins, and most people hate their bank.” – Michael Tanguma

 

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Tether’s Sovereign Empire, Collapsing Bank Barriers, & AI Bots Using BTC