The increasing use of artificial intelligence in financial systems is driving the industry towards a model where machines execute transactions on a massive scale, posing 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 mounting pressure as transaction demands become more intricate, with the tipping point occurring when latency, scale, and complexity start to hinder a company's ability to compete. This forces firms to reevaluate how their systems are designed. Borden emphasized that while automation has long been a part of finance, the focus is now shifting from capability to trust.
Microsoft is developing tools to facilitate this transition, including systems that assign identities and permissions to AI agents and track their actions. 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. Both executives anticipate a mix of systems coexisting in the future, with Levin predicting that the majority of commerce will be settled on public infrastructure and Borden envisioning a more integrated approach that links public blockchains, private networks, and existing rails.