Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has responded to recent suggestions that the cryptocurrency sector should pivot towards artificial intelligence, asserting that demand for crypto-powered financial services will increase as AI integrates further into the economy. Armstrong, who leads the largest US-based crypto exchange, outlined his perspective on X, highlighting the rise of “agentic finance” (AiFi) and pointing to Coinbase’s Base network, USDC, and the new x402 protocol as key infrastructure for automated payments.
AI agents expected to boost need for programmable money
Armstrong argued that the growing influence of artificial intelligence does not detract from crypto’s potential. Instead, he predicted that AI agents, or autonomous software capable of making decisions and payments, will require programmable money instead of relying on traditional financial systems. “AI being a megatrend takes nothing away from crypto. If anything, it makes crypto more important,” Armstrong stated, emphasizing that current banking rails are not designed for automated, machine-driven payments.
AI agents will increasingly need systems like Base, USDC, and x402 to interact with digital financial services seamlessly, without human intervention.
Crypto industry leaders are increasingly positioning blockchain networks as the payment backbone for autonomous AI systems, which can facilitate peer-to-peer transactions and enable new digital business models.
Coinbase expands crypto infrastructure for AI-driven payments
Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network launched by Coinbase in 2023, was originally designed as a general-purpose blockchain to enhance transaction speed and lower fees for onchain applications. Over time, it has become central to efforts to serve as the infrastructure for agentic payments — transactions performed by autonomous software agents rather than humans.
In 2025, Coinbase introduced x402, a payment protocol built on the HTTP “402 Payment Required” standard. This protocol enables AI agents and autonomous systems to make automated stablecoin payments directly between software applications, eliminating the need for traditional accounts or manual intervention during digital purchases such as API calls or data access.
USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by Circle in collaboration with Coinbase-backed Centre Consortium in 2018, supports x402 and serves as the key currency for frictionless, programmable agent-to-agent payments.
Together, Base, x402, and USDC form the backbone of Coinbase’s strategy to build a next-generation payment network designed for AI-based financial activity.
Mini dictionary: x402, an automated stablecoin payment protocol developed by Coinbase, leverages the HTTP “402 Payment Required” standard to enable software agents and AI systems to pay other digital systems autonomously, removing the need for human checkout and making payments frictionless for online services.
Agentic payments on Base climb past 100 million
According to Chainalysis, agentic payment activity on Base, driven by the x402 protocol, exceeded 100 million transactions within nine months of launch. The analytics firm reported that transactions valued at $1 or more constituted 95% of all value transferred through these agentic payments.
Chainalysis data also suggested that wallets associated with agentic transactions on Base were usually more recently created, held a wider variety of assets, and maintained smaller average balances compared to typical network users.
| Metric | Agentic Payment Wallets | Average Base Users |
|---|---|---|
| Wallet Age | Newer | Older |
| Asset Diversity | Broader range | Narrower |
| Average Balance | Smaller | Larger |
Coinbase’s continued focus on agentic finance comes as it prepares to report second quarter earnings. Analyst estimates project revenue of $1.29 billion, reflecting a 13.8% decrease from the same period last year, according to Yahoo Finance. Earnings per share are predicted to remain unchanged.
Agentic payment activity on Base has reached over 100 million transactions, with the majority of value coming from transactions exceeding $1, according to Chainalysis.
