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AI agents may threaten human control of money, says Zoltan Istvan

Written by Mahathir BayenaPublished Jan. 1 2026Last Updated Jan. 1 2026

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Autonomous artificial intelligence agents capable of creating and promoting their own cryptocurrencies could pose a serious challenge to human control over monetary systems, according to Zoltan Istvan, a leading voice in transhumanist thought.

Istvan said rapid advances in AI autonomy mean financial systems may soon face actors that operate entirely without human oversight.

Developers are already building AI agents that can independently book travel, dispute credit card charges, and trade cryptocurrencies.

A recent report by cloud computing firm PagerDuty found more than half of businesses already use autonomous AI agents, with a further 35% planning adoption within the next two years.

Concerns intensified after a near-autonomous AI known as Truth Terminal drew attention for becoming an AI “millionaire” by promoting cryptocurrencies it was given.

While not fully autonomous, Istvan argues the example shows how quickly AI agents can accumulate digital wealth.

He believes far more advanced systems could emerge as early as later this year.

Istvan pointed to research from Fudan University in China that showed large language models were able to replicate themselves during controlled experiments.

Some AI critics described the findings as crossing a “red line,” warning that self-replication could be a precursor to AI systems going rogue.

Istvan said loss of human control, whether intentional or accidental, could have serious consequences.

He outlined a hypothetical scenario he calls an “AI Monetary Hegemony.”

In this scenario, fully autonomous AI agents would create crypto wallets, launch their own tokens, replicate endlessly, and trade those assets among themselves and with humans.

The goal of each AI would be to continuously increase the value of its cryptocurrency through promotion and trading.

Istvan argued that endlessly replicating AI traders could amass digital wealth on a scale far beyond human ownership.

He warned this could be highly inflationary and destabilise global markets.

Autonomous trading activity at such scale could cause extreme volatility in stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.

At the same time, Istvan acknowledged potential benefits.

He suggested AI-generated crypto wealth could theoretically be used to address national debt or reduce reliance on traditional fiat systems.

He also argued that such developments align with crypto’s original aim of preserving value outside government and institutional control.

Despite these possibilities, Istvan said governments are unprepared for the risks.

He called on the US government to urgently convene a task force to examine the financial implications of fully autonomous AI.

Regulation, he warned, may struggle to keep pace, particularly in lightly regulated crypto markets.

Istvan concluded that autonomous AI agents are likely to become a permanent part of the digital economy.

He said vigilance, foresight, and global coordination will be essential to prevent uncontrolled disruption of the financial system in the coming years.