Experience the Dawn of Agentic Commerce at Consensus 2026

A seismic shift is underway in the world of commerce, driven by the convergence of artificial intelligence and blockchain payments. AI agents, capable of autonomous decision-making and action, are beginning to engage in transactions, but the existing payment infrastructure is ill-equipped to handle their unique needs. The traditional payment systems, designed with humans in mind, create friction that hinders the seamless interaction of AI agents. Consensus 2026 will gather over 15,000 influential minds in crypto, AI, and finance to discuss and shape the future of agentic commerce. Christian Catalini, MIT professor and founder of the Cryptoeconomics Lab, emphasizes that true agentic payments will only be achieved when AI is the counterparty, enabling capabilities such as atomic settlement and per-second payment streaming. This is not a distant vision but a near-term engineering challenge that will be tackled by the experts at Consensus. The event will feature key players, including Google Cloud, which is actively investing in blockchain payment rails and participating in open protocols like x402. Rich Widmann, Google Cloud's Global Head of Strategy for Web3, notes that the biggest hurdle is that most products are still designed for humans, not agents. Two emerging protocols, x402 and MPP, will be represented at Consensus, vying to become the standard for agentic commerce. The conference will also offer a structured curriculum through CoinDesk University, taking attendees from the basics to advanced implementation of agentic payments. With the window of opportunity open, Consensus 2026 is the platform where the future of agentic commerce will be shaped, and those in attendance will have a voice in defining its trajectory.