South Korea’s $200 billion U.S. investment plan could help expand the computing behind AI. Stablecoins could help the agents using that computing power shop, pay for services and do business.
Some of the news that matters most for crypto starts with a power plant, a trade agreement or a technology company planning its next data center.
South Korea’s $200 billion U.S. strategic investment plan brings those pieces together. The energy proposals announced last week include a $22.3 billion power project in Texas, a framework for eight nuclear reactors, and an Alaska natural gas project still under review.
Announcing the plans on September 30, President Donald Trump called them a “major step toward securing our critical energy supply chain.” He said the investments would strengthen America’s energy position and its partnership with South Korea.
The connection to crypto is straightforward: AI agents need computers to do their work. Those computers need electricity. And when agents buy something, they need a way to pay.
Stablecoins can provide that payment option.
That makes the energy buildout an encouraging development for the agent economy—and a potential opportunity for crypto. More reliable power could support more computing, more useful agents and more business conducted through software.
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From Waiting for an Agent to Letting It Shop
Ask an agent in ChatGPT to research a topic or compare several products, and you may spend a while waiting. It has to search, read information and work through the task before giving you a result.
That does not mean a shortage of electricity is causing the delay. The software itself and the websites or services it uses can also slow things down.
But the experience shows what needs to improve. For agents to handle everyday jobs, they need to be dependable, affordable and fast enough to save people time.
Imagine asking an agent to plan a trip. It could compare flights, check baggage fees, find a hotel near your meetings and—with your permission—complete the bookings.
A shopping agent could watch for a better price, reorder household supplies or arrange a return. A business agent could buy a report, pay for a software tool or purchase computing time to finish a job.
Each task requires access to information and services. Many also involve money.
As more people hand these jobs to agents, the systems behind them will need to support that activity. Better software is part of the answer. More computing capacity—and the electricity to run it—is another.
The International Energy Agency’s 2025 Energy and AI report projected that global data-center electricity use would rise from about 415 terawatt-hours in 2024 to 945 terawatt-hours by 2030. That forecast covers all data centers, with AI driving much of the increase. The agency also identified electricity supply and grid constraints as potential obstacles to expansion.
This is why new power plants belong in the conversation about what agents could eventually do.
The Power Behind the Plans
South Korea’s investment commitments grew out of trade negotiations with Washington. The broader $350 billion package allocated $150 billion to shipbuilding and $200 billion to strategic investments. The energy proposals show where some of that investment could go.
The clearest AI connection is Project Star in Encinal, Texas.
According to the Korean government’s project overview, the planned $22.3 billion gas-fired development would supply nearby AI data centers directly. Its planned capacity is 6,472 megawatts, or roughly 6.5 gigawatts.
The first phase is expected to begin operating in 2029, with full operation targeted for 2032. Related Companies and NextEra Energy are leading the project, with Lewis Energy Group providing resources including land, natural gas and water.
The nuclear plans reach further into the future. A framework published by Westinghouse outlines up to $120 billion to help finance eight reactors on federal sites. The announcement specifically links additional power to growing demand from AI and computing.
The terms remain non-binding and subject to final negotiations, so further agreements are needed before the proposed reactors can be built.
The Alaska natural gas proposal is also unfinished. Korean participation remains under commercial review, and Vice President JD Vance said on October 5 that details still needed to be worked out. Its main role is in gas supply and exports, rather than directly powering an AI campus.
These proposals join a broader push by technology companies to secure electricity.
Meta is helping pay for new power infrastructure through Entergy. Their agreement includes plans for seven gas-fired plants totaling more than 5,200 megawatts, along with transmission lines, battery storage and increased nuclear output. Entergy says Meta will cover the infrastructure costs supporting its expansion.
“We are building foundations for the future of AI innovation right here in the United States,” said Rachel Peterson, Meta’s vice president of data centers.
Elon Musk’s AI business is building dedicated generation. In a July 30 update, the company described a 1.2-gigawatt power plant under construction for its Southaven, Mississippi, operation, with 41 permitted turbines.
Amazon is supporting more nuclear power. Its September 30 agreement with Constellation covers 690 megawatts over 20 years, including a planned 190-megawatt increase at Maryland’s Calvert Cliffs plant.
The approaches differ, but the goal is similar: make sure electricity is available for the next stage of growth.
For companies building agents, that means room to expand. For payment businesses, it could mean a larger market of software buying services on behalf of people and companies.
Agents Are Already Paying for Services
While energy companies plan the power supply, crypto companies are building ways for agents to spend money.
As Blockster reported on October 1, t54 Labs said it had passed 10 million agent-initiated transactions on the XRP Ledger. The company also reported more than 169,000 applications for Claw Credit, with roughly $650,000 in credit extended.
Those figures describe activity reported by t54. They do not mean 10 million people used agents to shop or book trips. The immediate use is agents buying resources to complete their work.
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An agent preparing a report might need information from a paid database. A coding agent might need computing time. Another might pay a specialist service to check its results.
t54’s Claw Credit documentation explains how eligible agents receive controlled spending power for these purchases. Supported payment options include USDC on Base and Solana, and RLUSD on XRP Ledger, depending on availability.
These purchases can use x402, a payment system that lets software pay for access to an online resource as part of requesting it. Coinbase’s explanation of x402 describes how an agent can purchase a tool during a task and then continue working.
The benefit is simple: an agent can buy a service within its approved budget without sending its user through a separate checkout each time.
Dollar stablecoins are useful here because they aim to hold a steady dollar value. That makes prices and spending budgets easier to manage than using a cryptocurrency whose dollar price can change sharply.
Shopping and travel could take this further. Those uses also need merchant connections, clear permission to spend and ways to handle refunds or cancellations. Cards and bank payments will compete for that business too.
Even so, t54 offers a concrete example of the opportunity: agents are becoming paying customers, and crypto payment systems are already serving some of them.
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Why Crypto Readers Should Watch Macro News
The link between energy and crypto is about what each makes possible.
New power plants can support more computing. More computing can help businesses run useful agents. Those agents may buy services, creating demand for payment systems that work through software.
That is a promising opportunity for stablecoins and for businesses providing agent wallets, spending controls and payment processing.
It does not mean every energy announcement will push cryptocurrency prices higher. These projects take years to deliver, and greater payment activity will benefit different crypto businesses and networks in different ways.
But crypto’s growth is connected to decisions being made well beyond exchanges and blockchain projects.
Trade agreements influence where money is invested. Energy projects help determine where computing can grow. The services built on that computing can bring new customers to digital payments.
That is why we should follow macro news more closely. A headline about a Texas power plant or a nuclear agreement may tell us something about the future market for agents—and the money they will use.
There is reason to be excited about the direction. New power capacity is being planned, agents are gaining useful abilities, and stablecoins are already helping software pay for its work.
Reporting by Lidia Yadlos
