Cardano Founder Predicts Virtual Assistants Will Soon Overtake Human Users Online

Table of Contents AI agents are on track to surpass human activity online by 2035, according to Charles Hoskinson. The Cardano founder made this claim at Consensus Miami 2026 on Wednesday. He warned that Google, Amazon, and Facebook face serious disruption. Their advertising-based models depend on human behavior, which AI agents do not replicate. Hoskinson urged the crypto community to maintain control over data, identity, and assets as this shift unfolds. AI agents do not click ads or carry brand loyalty, Hoskinson explained at the conference. This behavior directly threatens platforms that rely on advertising revenue to sustain their businesses. Google, Amazon, and Facebook have built their empires on human browsing habits, and those habits are changing fast. Hoskinson pointed to Google’s interest in the x402 protocol as evidence of this concern. The Coinbase-backed protocol allows AI agents to make direct payments using stablecoins and crypto rails. It is a signal that even the largest tech firms are preparing for an agent-driven internet. He said these companies are investing heavily to adapt because “all of their business models are going to be disrupted.” The transition is not a distant theory but an ongoing process already reshaping how platforms operate. Tech giants are repositioning now to avoid being caught off guard. Other industry leaders share this view. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that “very soon there are going to be more AI agents than humans making transactions.” Binance founder Changpeng Zhao added that agents “will make one million times more payments than humans.” Hoskinson described AI agents as the “single best thing to ever happen to cryptocurrencies.” Agents simplify user experience by handling due diligence, executing transactions, and interacting with decentralized finance protocols. This reduces the complexity that has historically kept new users away from crypto. However, he cautioned users against surrendering control to intermediaries in this new environment. Many are already outsourcing asset management to custodial wallets, permissioned networks, and third-party platforms. That approach, he said, contradicts the founding principles of cryptocurrency. He also addressed ecosystem fragmentation as a persistent barrier to growth. With over 11 million tokens issued to date, Hoskinson called for cooperation rather than continued proliferation. “What I want is the mission to be achieved,” he said plainly. On the institutional front, he noted that JPMorgan has gone from restricting crypto-related accounts to building its own blockchain product. That shift, along with technologies like account abstraction and chain abstraction, points to a maturing industry. The infrastructure is gradually aligning with what mass adoption requires.