The increasing use of artificial intelligence in financial systems is driving the industry towards a model where machines handle transactions on a massive scale, creating new challenges related to control, oversight, and infrastructure, according to Microsoft and Chainalysis executives. Bill Borden, Microsoft's corporate vice president of worldwide financial services, stated that legacy systems will face growing pressure as transaction demands become more complex, with the breaking point occurring when latency, scale, and complexity start to impact a company's ability to compete. This forces firms to reconsider how their systems are built. While automation has long been present in finance, Borden emphasized that the focus is now shifting from capability to trust, with the key question being whether technology can be trusted and audited.
Microsoft is developing tools to manage this transition, including systems that assign identities and permissions to AI agents and track their actions. In regulated environments, firms must demonstrate what controlled a system and whether it followed policy when decisions are made without direct human input.
Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CEO of Chainalysis, noted that the crypto sector already provides a working model of automated finance, with blockchain networks processing large volumes of transactions through smart contracts and software-driven wallets, creating an environment similar to agent-based systems. Looking ahead, both executives expect a mix of systems to coexist, with Levin predicting that the majority of commerce will be settled on public infrastructure in 10 years, while Borden envisioning a more integrated approach linking public blockchains, private networks, and existing rails.