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In the ever-evolving world of finance, a new trend is emerging that promises to revolutionize the way we manage our money – self-driving money. This concept, being pursued in consumer fintech, refers to software that automates and optimizes finances across categories.
The synergy between AI and blockchain is at the heart of this trend. AI models are increasingly embedded at the protocol layer to interpret blockchain data, predict risks, and optimize smart contract behaviour. Meanwhile, blockchain ensures data used for AI training is immutable, timestamped, and tamper-proof, providing a trustworthy foundation for AI models.
This synergy is transforming Decentralized Finance (DeFi) from rigid, rule-based protocols into intelligent, responsive ecosystems where money can effectively "drive itself" through smart contracts enhanced by AI.
Key aspects of this trend include AI-embedded protocols, blockchain for trust and decentralization, self-driving payments and programmable money, Bitcoin and open protocols as foundational infrastructure, and growth in DeFi lending and TVL (Total Value Locked).
The rise of smart contracts and layer-2 distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) enables programmable money that can autonomously execute financial actions. This includes decentralized lending, borrowing, asset tokenization, and microfinance tailored for IoT applications, facilitating broad financial inclusion without traditional intermediaries.
The DeFi lending sector has seen explosive growth recently, with TVL reaching $55 billion as of June 2025, signalling increasing investor confidence and real-world adoption of decentralized, AI-enhanced financial services that enable self-driving money flows.
In essence, the trend is a move from static decentralized finance to a new paradigm where AI and blockchain combine to create intelligent, transparent, and fully decentralized financial agents capable of managing money autonomously and adaptively.
This not only enhances efficiency and risk management but also promotes greater financial inclusion and reduces reliance on centralized intermediaries. The evolving "cognitive infrastructure" for decentralized finance is expected to grow significantly, with blockchain and AI markets projected to expand substantially by 2030, further fueling innovation in self-driving money systems.
Meanwhile, in the real estate sector, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the digital revolution. Zillow predicts a 2 to 3 percent reduction in home prices this year and a 45 percent drop in the volume of home sales, but estimates that home prices will rebound to pre-COVID rates by late 2021 and that the sales volume will spring back by 2022. The real estate marketplace created 525 percent more 3D home tours in April than in February, and virtual tours are expected to continue to increase in popularity even after the pandemic subsides.
In the finance sector, brokerage firms are competing for millennial and Gen Z investors by offering commission-free trades and fractional share ownership. Over the past few months, there has been significant growth in trading volume and new account creation on major brokerage platforms, with many of these new accounts being young and first-time traders.
Notably, Charles Schwab added 609,000 new accounts in Q1 2020, with more than 280,000 of those added in March alone. Robinhood has added 3 million funded accounts this year alone.
As traditional financial institutions adapt to this new digital landscape, fintech startups are also making their mark. Companies like Atomic, Astra, and Canopy are powering connectivity across fintech apps in pursuit of self-driving money. Atomic, for instance, automates the ability to easily switch your direct deposit to a newly opened bank account.
In the remittance sector, the electronic money transfer service Xoom has seen a significant increase in new active users since January. Remote online notarization (RON) is on the rise, with 47 states having permanent or temporary online notarization measures in place. Notorize.com is hiring 1,000 notaries in response to the increased demand for RON.
The trend towards digital finance is also driving changes in the banking sector. Banking is moving online, with increases in direct deposit volumes, mobile banking engagement, digital commerce, and online banking revenue. The number of bank branches closing in the US has increased by 12% between 2010 and 2019, and is expected to rise further due to social distancing.
In conclusion, the world of finance is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the convergence of AI and blockchain. This shift towards self-driving money and decentralized finance promises to make financial services more efficient, inclusive, and adaptable to the needs of a rapidly changing world.
In the expanding realm of personal-finance, AI-embedded protocols and self-driving payments are set to redefine how individuals manage their money, following the advancement in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) through the synergy of AI and blockchain. This fusion has the potential to create intelligent, autonomous, and adaptive financial agents that optimize smart contract behavior and mitigate risks in investing.
Additionally, the integration of AI in the business sector is anticipated to expand substantially by 2030, particularly in the growing DeFi lending sector, where TVL reached $55 billion as of June 2025, indicating a surge in investor confidence. These intelligent, AI-enhanced financial services are expected to lead to greater financial inclusion and reduce dependency on centralized intermediaries.
