"AI Pays Directly with Crypto"...Coinbase Launches 'AI Agent' Exclusive Marketplace

▲ Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Asset Payment/AI Generated Image

As the era of artificial intelligence (AI) agents autonomously exploring services and even making payments unfolds, virtual assets are establishing themselves as the next-generation economic infrastructure.

Crypto media outlet Benzinga reported on April 21 (local time) that Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, launched 'Agentic,' a marketplace exclusively for AI agents. Armstrong emphasized via X (formerly Twitter) that for the agent economy to enter a stage beyond the human-centric economy, a 'discovery layer' is essential, allowing agents to find and integrate services themselves.

The Agentic platform serves as a core infrastructure fulfilling this role, designed to enable AI agents to explore various services and make payments based on the x402 standard. It's a structure where services in diverse fields such as infrastructure, social media, and travel are connected within a single ecosystem.

The core technology, x402, is an internet-native payment protocol developed by Coinbase. Through this, AI agents and APIs can make real-time payments using the stablecoin USDC. The ability to integrate without a separate API key is considered a significant factor in lowering development entry barriers.

Agentic goes beyond a simple payment system to serve as a hub for agent commerce. Users can register their AI agents or list their services on the platform to generate revenue, and all participants only need to be compatible with the x402 standard.

Armstrong has consistently projected that AI agents will emerge as key players in economic activity. He predicted that in the future, AI agents would use cryptocurrency wallets to conduct transactions directly, eventually processing more financial transactions than humans. This signifies that AI is evolving beyond a mere auxiliary tool into an economic entity with the authority to execute funds.

Virtual assets are considered a core foundation for these changes. Given their ability for instant payments without border restrictions, they are evaluated as the optimal means to implement an automated AI economy.

Competition surrounding the Agentic commerce market is also rapidly expanding. Recently, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), supported by the Trump family, built its own payment infrastructure and introduced agent payment functionality using its stablecoin USD1. This indicates that the competition for dominance in the AI-based payment ecosystem is intensifying.

The market expects this trend to trigger structural changes across the traditional fintech industry. As asset movement becomes automated through code, the speed and efficiency of financial transactions are projected to significantly improve.

Meanwhile, Coinbase's stock price closed at $211.63, up 2.57% in regular trading the previous day, boosted by the news of this service launch. The Agentic platform plans to function as a 'gateway to the agent economy,' integrating virtual asset data and various services in the future.

The combination of artificial intelligence and blockchain is evolving towards building a fast and transparent economic system while minimizing human intervention. The market is paying close attention to how quickly Agentic commerce will spread across actual industries.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*