Bitcoin and Artificial Intelligence: Toward a Digital Economy Less Reliant on Bank Intermediation: A Critical Integrative Review and Foresight Study

Abstract

This study examines how the convergence of Bitcoin and artificial intelligence (AI) could reshape selected functions of the digital economy and reduce reliance on bank intermediation, while critically testing the limits and risks of that proposition. It distinguishes between eliminating intermediaries and redistributing intermediation functions. Bitcoin can enable direct settlement between parties in selected payment contexts, whereas AI can add a decision and coordination layer for payment routing, anomaly detection, liquidity prioritization, and user interaction. The convergence does not therefore imply an institution-free economy. Custodians, exchanges, liquidity providers, wallet operators, model providers, compliance institutions, and legal authorities may perform the functions previously associated with banks. The study uses a transparent critical integrative review of 31 sources identified through searches of Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and official institutional repositories, covering January 2008 to August 2026. Searches combined terms relating to Bitcoin, crypto-assets, artificial intelligence, agentic payments, financial intermediation, decentralized finance, governance, and risk. Evidence was synthesized through a qualitative coding matrix and then used to construct three conditional scenarios through 2035: regulated integration, a fragmented hybrid economy, and institutional containment. The findings indicate that the most plausible trajectory is a reallocation of selected intermediation functions rather than the disappearance of banks. The study extends functional theories of financial intermediation by proposing the concept of programmable intermediation: cryptographic networks, software, AI agents, and service providers jointly perform monitoring, coordination, settlement, and accountability functions. It also derives scenario-specific regulatory and institutional recommendations.