Good morning!
As AI agents start spending money, the rules are catching up. The Financial Stability Board wants humans to approve an agent’s riskier actions, Amex will let customers approve what their agents buy, and Michael Dell says AI needs safeguards with a role for government.
Some stories in Kaupr Daily:
💎 AI agents have made more than 138 million crypto payments
💎 SoftBank pays its highest-ever yield to borrow for its AI bet
💎 Hot US inflation hits stocks, and nearly $1 billion in crypto bets are liquidated
💎 Nasdaq Ventues backs One Trading to build 24/7 markets in Europe
💎 Interactive Brokers lets clients stake ether
Still worth a listen: in the latest Kaupr Weekly, I count ten movements bringing old and new finance together.
Calls for guardrails on AI agents
FSB calls for more human oversight of AI agents
The Financial Stability Board has published final guidance for banks and other firms on managing AI risks, strengthening its advice on AI agents. Firms should set clear, risk-based triggers for when an agent must seek human approval. The FSB also dropped its draft idea of treating agents as "synthetic employees", since they behave differently from people.
Why it matters: Agents may interpret goals in unexpected ways, the FSB warns, and regulators worry they could get around safeguards as more institutions adopt them.
Source: Global financial watchdog calls for more human oversight of agentic AI — Reuters
Amex wants customers to approve what their AI agents buy
American Express has launched a framework that records a customer's purchase intent, such as merchant, budget and preferences, before an AI agent buys anything. The customer approves it, and the agent pays with a token rather than the card number. If an agent tries to buy Adidas when asked for Nike, Amex can block it.
Why it matters: A record of what each agent was allowed to do, and when, gives card issuers a basis for handling fraud and disputes when agents shop.
Source: Amex introduces a framework to prevent AI agents from making unauthorized purchases — TechCrunch
Michael Dell: AI needs safeguards, and government has a role
Dell Technologies chief executive Michael Dell told CNBC that AI models "have to have safeguards and controls". "Fire can heat your home. It can also burn down your whole village," he said. Companies building AI must set "bounded permissions", he said, and there is "a role for government to play", though he gave no specifics.
Why it matters: The White House favours self-regulation, and federal AI rules look unlikely before November's midterm elections, CNBC notes.
Source: Michael Dell says AI needs safeguards and controls, and government has a role to play — CNBC
AI agents are already paying
AI agents have made more than 138 million crypto payments
AI agents have made more than 138 million payments through Coinbase's x402 protocol on Base, Chainalysis finds, buying data, computing power and access to AI models. Most cost less than 10 cents. The time from funding an agent's wallet to its first payment has fallen from 73 days to 18 minutes.
Why it matters: US wallets account for 88% of payments for AI models, while Chinese developers lean on open-weight models such as DeepSeek and Qwen, Chainalysis says.
Source: AI agents make 138 million crypto payments as U.S. dominates spending on AI models — CoinDesk
🎧 Kaupr Weekly
Episode 13: Convergence: Ten Movements Reshaping Onchain Finance
Ten movements bringing old and new finance together, from bitcoin as a mainstream portfolio asset to banks split between stablecoins and tokenised deposits.
KAUPR WEEKLY
Episode 13: Convergence: Ten Movements Reshaping Onchain Finance
Listen on Spotify · Apple Podcasts
Read the article: Ten Movements Where Old and New Finance Collide — Kaupr
Who pays for the AI build-out
The circular money machine behind the AI boom
Nvidia invests in, supplies and buys from many of the same AI companies, two Deakin University researchers write. It has put up to $30 billion into OpenAI, which then buys Nvidia chips, and up to $10 billion into Anthropic. One central bank analysis found that 55% of investments into AI firms came from other AI firms.
Why it matters: When the same company is investor, supplier and customer, it is harder to tell real demand from bubble risk, and trouble at one firm can spread quickly.
Source: Who's paying whom? The circular money machine behind the AI boom (or bubble) — The Conversation
SoftBank pays its highest-ever yield to borrow for its AI bet
SoftBank has sold a record $11 billion of junk bonds, paying a coupon of up to 9.75%, its highest ever. Masayoshi Son has committed $64.6 billion to OpenAI and is now borrowing at high rates to keep assets he expects to rise in value. SoftBank's shares have fallen 38% since their June record.
Why it matters: The high yields reflect investors' concern about concentration in a few large AI positions, and doubts over how soon AI companies will earn a return.
Source: SoftBank junk bond sale raises stakes for CEO Son's all-in AI bet — Reuters
Markets after hot US inflation
Hot US inflation hits stocks, and chip shares fall further
US consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in five months, and stocks fell across Asia. Korea's Kospi dropped as much as 8%, triggering a brief trading halt, as Samsung and SK Hynix each lost more than 10%. Treasuries recovered on demand for safe assets, with the 10-year yield falling to 5.11%.
Why it matters: Markets now price in around 40 basis points of Fed rate rises by the end of January, and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh speaks on Friday.
Source: Stock Losses Deepen on Chip Rout, Treasuries Rally: Markets Wrap — Bloomberg
Nearly $1 billion in crypto bets liquidated as bitcoin and ether slide
Bitcoin fell about 3% to around $81,000 and ether more than 6% to about $2,350, as uncertainty over the Fed's next rate move hit crypto. Nearly $1 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated across the market. XRP and Solana each fell about 5%.
Why it matters: Ether accounted for about 60% of liquidations in the two largest coins, with about $30 billion in ether futures still open.
Source: Nearly $1 billion in crypto bets liquidated as bitcoin, ether and XRP slide — CoinDesk
Round-the-clock markets come to Europe
Nasdaq Ventures backs One Trading to build 24/7 markets in Europe
Nasdaq Ventures has made an undisclosed strategic investment in One Trading, an Amsterdam-based regulated exchange for crypto and derivatives. One Trading recently won Dutch regulatory backing for what it calls the EU's first regulated round-the-clock market for perpetual futures on equities. The two will work on round-the-clock trading infrastructure and new products.
Why it matters: It follows Nasdaq Ventures' $100 million investment in Kraken's parent Payward last month, as established exchanges back round-the-clock trading.
Source: Nasdaq Ventures backs One Trading to build 24/7 markets in Europe — Dealroom
Ether staking at a broker
Interactive Brokers lets clients stake ether
Interactive Brokers has launched staking for eligible clients, starting with ether and run by Zero Hash. Clients stake and unstake from a dashboard in the client portal, and rewards are added to the position, where they can compound. "We want clients to earn more from the assets they hold," says chief executive Milan Galik.
Why it matters: Staking moves into a mainstream brokerage account, so clients can earn on ether without leaving the broker they already use.
Source: Interactive Brokers Expands Digital Asset Offering with Cryptocurrency Staking — Interactive Brokers (Source: press release)
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Wishing you a great Thursday — and welcome back tomorrow morning for the next edition of Kaupr Today.
Best regards Morten Myrstad Founder & Editor