Franklin Templeton Exec Calls Agentic AI Crypto’s ‘Killer Use Case’ as ETH Nears $2K

Franklin Templeton Digital Assets has just described agentic artificial intelligence as the “killer use case” for blockchain and crypto.

The Head of Digital Assets and Innovation for a $2 trillion asset manager “just said to buy ETH,” commented former BlackRock VP and host of Milk Road Daily, John Gillen, on Tuesday. His statement came in response to a lengthy post on X from Franklin’s Sandy Kaul on the use cases for crypto in agentic AI payments.

Most investors buy shares of AI-aligned companies to capture the growth opportunity today, he said. US stock markets have boomed with the S&P 500 climbing 20% over the past year to an all-time high in early June, largely driven by tech and AI stocks.

However, the same playbook may not work for agentic AI, he said.

Ethereum is the AI Bet

AI agents can independently initiate, track, and fulfill transactions, and estimates suggest agentic commerce could reach $3 to $5 trillion by 2030.

Legacy payment rails with high fees and slow transaction times do not work for micropayments. Additionally, AI agents cannot open bank accounts or access financial services, which have rafts of strict KYC requirements.

Therefore, it is likely that AI agents will use decentralized blockchains to transact, and Ethereum and its layer-2 networks are the current industry standard with the largest developer base and institutional support.

“I believe what will become increasingly clear in coming years is that in order to capture the value of decentralized networks and businesses, investors will need to buy the cryptocurrencies and altcoins being issued by those entities.”

“Such investments are likely to become key holdings in portfolios, especially for those looking to capture the emerging agentic AI opportunity,” he added.

The Head of Digital Assets and Innovation for a ~$2T Asset Manager just said to buy $ETH

“I believe what will become increasingly clear in coming years is that in order to capture the value of decentralized networks and businesses, investors will need to buy the cryptocurrencies… https://t.co/KeaHLq7Aid

— John Gillen – WartimeEthereum.eth (@BitcoinJesusETH) July 21, 2026

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In April, the IMF released a report stating that agentic AI will reshape payments and standards are already being developed.

“A growing set of industry actors, including payment networks, technology platforms such as Ethereum, and AI model providers, are in a race to experiment with these capabilities,” it said.

Crypto commentator Leo Lanza said on Tuesday that “everyone sees Ethereum as a tokenization bet,” adding:

“Almost nobody sees it as an AI bet. But AI agents will need financial rails to hold assets, settle payments, and transact with each other.”

ETH Price Nudges Higher

Ethereum prices hit a seven-week high of $1,945 on Tuesday, and it has largely held on to those gains into early trading on Wednesday.

The asset was changing hands for $1,930 at the time of writing, up 27% since its cycle low on June 26 and nudging ever closer to the psychological $2,000 barrier