Arslanian: Stablecoin Rules and AI Payments Draw Firms

At Consensus 2026 in Miami Beach, Henri Arslanian, co‑founder of Nine Blocks Capital Management, told attendees that Senate consideration of the Clarity Act and new stablecoin rules are driving institutional interest in crypto and creating compliance questions for AI-driven payments.

The Clarity Act would set regulatory rules for stablecoins, digital tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar that provide an onramp from cash to blockchain networks. Discussions and lobbying around the bill were prominent at the conference, and Arslanian said many large financial firms are continuing pilots and product development regardless of whether the legislation becomes law.

Payments were a major focus at the event. Presenters argued crypto can shorten settlement times and lower fees compared with card networks and traditional bank transfers. A growing use case at the conference was agentic payments — transactions initiated and completed by autonomous AI programs without human approval — with many of those flows routed over crypto rails.

Arslanian raised immediate compliance and surveillance questions tied to agentic payments. He asked, “If we’re using agentic payments, how are we going to do KYC on these agentic payments? How are we going to do trade surveillance to ensure there’s no market manipulation, wash trading or insider trading going on?” He said firms must address anti‑money laundering and broader financial crime controls for these automated flows.

The conference reflected a shift in attendee makeup, with large banks and institutional delegations taking more floor space and presentation slots than in prior years. Arslanian, who has spoken at every Consensus conference, described Miami as the event with the strongest institutional presence he has seen at U.S. and Asia editions.

Speakers also addressed market volatility. Bitcoin and other tokens have experienced sharp swings in recent cycles. Arslanian warned that a prolonged bear market could lead to talent attrition, noting that newer entrants to the space face living expenses and may leave if downturns persist: “My biggest fear now is if the bear market continues. Are we going to lose a lot of new talent that came to the space? Because, frankly, they have to pay their bills.”

Arslanian identified three obstacles to wider adoption: limited market interest and price momentum, external shocks such as DeFi hacks and state‑linked theft, and low public education about crypto and how it is integrated into mainstream banking platforms.

Conference sessions and dealmaking indicated institutions are exploring stablecoin custody, fiat on‑ramps and compliance tooling to support automated payment flows. Arslanian noted regulators, banks and crypto firms are negotiating frameworks that will influence how those tools are deployed, and many institutional players are moving ahead with pilots while legislative outcomes remain uncertain.