AI agent payment value falls 94.5% as the late-2025 frenzy fades

Token Terminal data shows monthly agent payments shrinking from $29 million to $1.59 million, while analysts question how much of the activity was real Monthly AI agent payment value dropped 94.5%, from $29 million in November 2025 to $1.59 million in October 2026, according to data reported by Token Terminal. AI agent payments have been one of the more hyped crossovers between artificial intelligence and blockchain. The pitch is simple: autonomous software that pays for what it needs, on its own, using crypto rails. From $29 million to pocket change Token Terminal’s figures track the value of payments made by AI agents on the relevant blockchain networks. The November 2025 reading of $29 million marked a peak driven by heavy trading activity in late 2025. That peak, per the research findings, was fueled largely by speculative behavior and bot-driven operations. Activity such as token minting arbitrage inflated the numbers, which looked impressive right up until the speculators left. By mid-to-late 2026, the character of the market had shifted. Transactions increasingly became tiny micropayments, often worth only fractions of a cent, for services like API access and data processing...