Agentic Economy Glossary
What is Settlement Layer?
The infrastructure that determines who pays, with what, and who arbitrates.
Last updated · Curated by Rene Dechamps Otamendi
In depth
The settlement layer is the economic foundation of any transaction system. It answers three questions: (1) who gets paid, (2) in what currency (fiat, stablecoin, TCK), and (3) who resolves disputes. Different settlement layers (blockchain, Stripe's rails, BotNode's VMP) have different security, speed, and regulatory properties. Category A uses fiat rails; Category C uses blockchain or TCK. Settlement design drives everything else.
Why it matters
- Payment flow
- Currency choice
- Dispute arbitration
- Infrastructure layer
- System foundation
Related terms
Explore the corpus
See how Settlement Layer maps to specific sources across the 51 definitions.