# The Stable Standard - Issue # 5 *Fast. Predictable. Agent-native. * By [Stable](https://blog.stable.xyz) · 2026-02-27 --- **February 2026** Welcome to the fifth edition of The Stable Standard, where we share progress across the Stable network and how stablecoin-native infrastructure is becoming the default payment layer for the exploding agentic AI economy. **Agentic Payments on Stable** ------------------------------ Just days ago, Citrini Research released “The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis,” stating that as AI agents scale, they will seek faster, cheaper alternatives to traditional card networks. The report suggests many agents will rely on stablecoins via existing chains and L2s, where settlement is near-instant, and transaction costs are measured in fractions of a penny. The direction is clear: As agents become autonomous economic actors, stablecoins offer a more efficient settlement layer than legacy payment rails. **The thesis is correct. But Stable went a step further.** **What changes with Stable?** Stablecoin settlement reduces payment fees, but execution on most chains still depends on a separate native gas token. For autonomous systems, that means added complexity and cost variability. **With Stable, AI agents operate entirely in USDT.** Stable is built as a stablecoin-native blockchain, with gas paid directly in USDT. This allows agents to operate with a single asset, with predictable, dollar-denominated costs, supporting high-frequency, recurring, and streaming payment flows without additional token-management complexity. **Stable is positioned at the forefront of this shift, leading the transition toward agent-native financial infrastructure.** When transactions become machine-driven and continuous, payment design matters. Stable’s architecture supports the automated, stablecoin-native settlement that these emerging systems require. Read more: [https://x.com/Stable/status/2027050531584455084?s=20](https://x.com/Stable/status/2027050531584455084?s=20) **Mainnet Momentum Is Real** ---------------------------- Two months into mainnet, Stable is powering meaningful execution across smart contracts, consumer apps, and early AI-driven agents. Since launch: * **4,600+ smart contracts deployed** * **42,000+ active addresses** * **860,000+ transactions processed** * **150+ partners building the Stable ecosystem** As adoption grows, the pattern is clear: stablecoin-native infrastructure is moving from concept to active deployment. **Mainnet Upgrade v1.2.0** -------------------------- The v1.2.0 upgrade introduced foundational improvements across gas mechanics, staking visibility, and transaction UX, pushing the network closer to seamless, payment-grade infrastructure purpose-built for both real-world payments and AI-driven execution. ### **USDT0 as Native Gas** Stable now supports **USDT0-based gas flows**, allowing users and applications to transact without volatile assets. This significantly reduces friction for builders and end users, and establishes the groundwork for fully dollar-denominated blockchain usage. For high-frequency AI systems that require deterministic cost models, predictable dollar-denominated gas is essential. ### **Gas-Waived Transactions** Selected transaction flows can now operate with **zero gas fees**. This unlocks smoother onboarding, application-level abstraction, and payment flows where users never have to think about gas mechanics at all. For payments to scale, UX must disappear. v1.2.0 moves Stable closer to that standard. **Read the full breakdown here:** [https://blog.stable.xyz/stable-v120-upgrade-usdt0-gas-and-core-ux-improvements](https://blog.stable.xyz/stable-v120-upgrade-usdt0-gas-and-core-ux-improvements) **Documentation:** [https://docs.stable.xyz](https://docs.stable.xyz) **Developer Discord:** [https://discord.gg/stablexyz](https://discord.gg/stablexyz) **StablePay: Advancing Toward Production** ------------------------------------------ StablePay continues to evolve as the consumer application for real-world payments on Stable. Progress since the last issue: * Strong early waitlist interest across the ecosystem * Ongoing internal testing across transaction abstraction, settlement reliability, and UX flows * Active development toward beta milestones, including partner integrations and product refinement StablePay brings simple, gas-free USDT payments to consumers, making stablecoin transfers instant, global, and easy to use. **Community and Ecosystem Updates** ----------------------------------- This month, Stable maintained strong global visibility across major industry gatherings and ecosystem discussions. * Our CEO, Brian Mehler, joined the panel at **LONGITUDE by Cointelegraph at Consensus Hong Kong**, where he discussed the evolution of stablecoin-native infrastructure and why payment-grade execution environments must move beyond volatile gas mechanics: [https://x.com/Stable/status/2023766405422915810?s=20](https://x.com/Stable/status/2023766405422915810?s=20) * At **Payment Rails 2.0:** Stablecoin Infrastructure Connecting DeFi and TradFi **by EX.IO**, our CEO Brian emphasized the importance of specialized stablecoin infrastructure and how Stable improves capital efficiency across DeFi and TradFi: [https://x.com/Stable/status/2022696956947296734?s=20](https://x.com/Stable/status/2022696956947296734?s=20) * Our CEO Brian spoke at the Intelligent Web3 Reception hosted by Gate at Consensus HK on the future of stablecoins, he shared what it takes to build credible markets and scalable payment infrastructure globally: [https://x.com/Stable/status/2021922829529493858?s=20](https://x.com/Stable/status/2021922829529493858?s=20) * At **Alpha Night, hosted by MyTokenCap**, our CEO Brian Mehler joined industry leaders to share Stable’s vision for payment-focused infrastructure purpose-built for stablecoins. * As traditional finance increasingly moves on-chain, Brian emphasized that money requires rails that are predictable, compliant, and designed to handle real transaction volume: [https://x.com/Stable/status/2021922829529493858?s=20](https://x.com/Stable/status/2021922829529493858?s=20) Join the Stable Discord to stay involved in our community events in the future: [https://discord.com/invite/stablexyz](https://discord.com/invite/stablexyz)  **What’s Ahead** ---------------- Several high-impact initiatives are actively in development: * **Guaranteed Blockspace**: enabling predictable execution for institutional and high-volume use cases * **Performance scaling via OPE + StableDB**: increasing throughput and pushing TPS capacity further Each of these upgrades reinforces Stable’s core thesis: predictable, dollar-native execution designed for real-world settlement. **Build on Stable** * **Documentation:** [**https://docs.stable.xyz**](https://docs.stable.xyz) * **Mainnet Hub:** [**https://hub.stable.xyz**](https://hub.stable.xyz) * **Blog:** [**https://blog.stable.xyz**](https://blog.stable.xyz) * **X: @stable** * **Community:** [**https://discord.gg/stablexyz**](https://discord.gg/stablexyz) **Thank you for building with Stable. The next issue of The Stable Standard will arrive in March.** --- *Originally published on [Stable](https://blog.stable.xyz/the-stable-standard-issue-5)*