Coinbase unveils AiFi as industry standardizes AI-crypto payments

Coinbase launches AiFi to enable AI agents in trading and payments. x402 and USDC dominate agentic transactions. Industry leaders form an alliance to standardize AI-crypto payments as Base calls for open financial systems.

Coinbase has introduced its Agentic Finance (AiFi) framework, designed to empower AI agents to autonomously engage in trading, payments, and fund management. This initiative brings programmable infrastructure for AI-driven transactions, featuring products such as Coinbase Advisor, Coinbase for Agents, x402, and Coinbase Business. These tools support investment management, trading, and machine-to-machine payments. Coinbase for Agents integrates with AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor, enabling users to set trading goals and permissions while AI agents execute trades. The x402 protocol has already processed over 205 million transactions totaling $53 million, with USDC representing 99% of on-chain agentic commerce. Meanwhile, leading fintech and Web3 companies have formed the Agentic Payments Alliance to standardize AI-initiated crypto payments, addressing the need for unified frameworks as AI agents become more active in finance. Base has also advocated for open, always-on financial systems to support the growing role of AI in decentralized finance, signaling a broader industry shift toward automated, machine-to-machine economies.