Last updated on March 8th, 2026 at 02:20 pm
AI-powered agents are entering a new phase in crypto, with everyday users now building automated systems that can generate income, according to Brett Shear, co-founder of Palmtree Crypto and investor at 1confirmation.
Shear said recent tools such as Claude Code and OpenClaw have pushed AI agents past the experimental stage. Unlike earlier projects such as GOAT and ai16z, which mostly focused on social media presence and token tipping, newer agents are being used to execute real financial strategies.
Some users have built bots tied to platforms like Polymarket, while others are experimenting with mining and staking strategies. The shift marks a change from simple wallet-based experiments to profit-seeking automation powered by large language models.
OpenClaw launched and reignited excitement for AI agents in crypto
People are building agents that make real money, we’ve come a long way since X slop bots.
For this to go mainstream, we need a few things: Wallet, Vaults, Stablecoin Rails.
Exciting times! https://t.co/6HSwXYaIw6
— Brett Shear (@blockchainbrett) February 19, 2026
Wallet security and trust remain key hurdles
Despite the progress, Shear noted that security remains a major concern. Most AI agents currently operate through command-line interfaces, which allow deeper system access but require technical knowledge.
The biggest risk, he said, is wallet exposure. Agents interacting with email or messaging platforms could fall victim to prompt injection attacks, potentially leading to unauthorized fund transfers. There are also risks of private key leaks or costly execution errors.
To reduce these threats, Shear pointed to the need for stronger wallet infrastructure, including strict spending controls, improved key management and secure execution environments that allow agents to transact without direct access to sensitive credentials.
Crypto vaults and stablecoin rails could drive growth
Shear also highlighted the rise of agent-powered vaults. In this model, a developer packages a profitable strategy into a vault where others can deposit funds. The agent effectively becomes a portfolio manager, earning fees for its creator.
Stablecoin-based payment systems may further support the ecosystem. Profits generated by agents could automatically cover model usage costs, creating self-sustaining systems.
In another AI agent development, recent research introduces SCONE-bench, a benchmark set of 405 real-world smart contracts exploited between 2020 and 2025, evaluating AI agents’ capabilities to discover and exploit vulnerabilities.
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