Crypto Embraces AI Agents as the Future of Finance

Crypto firms see AI-powered software agents as the next big customer base, driving a race to build the infrastructure for 'agentic commerce'

Mar. 26, 2026 at 10:55am

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Crypto has spent years trying to get ordinary people to use its complex systems, but now sees AI agents as the future customers it was built for. Crypto firms are racing to build the infrastructure to support these AI agents, which they believe will soon be making more transactions than humans. This includes new payment rails, standards, and even entire blockchains designed with AI agents in mind. However, some are skeptical that this will happen at a meaningful scale anytime soon, and warn that crypto is overhyping its ability to displace traditional finance.

Why it matters

The rise of AI agents in crypto could fundamentally change how money and assets are managed, as these agents could hold and transact with tokenized stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments without the need for traditional brokerage accounts. This comes at a time of a generational wealth transfer, as Baby Boomers pass trillions to their heirs who are more comfortable with crypto and AI. However, crypto still needs to solve issues around trust, fraud, and risk management to see mainstream adoption.

The details

Crypto firms see AI agents as the future customers they were built for, able to navigate the complexities of crypto without the 'hassle' that ordinary people face. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has become a vocal proponent, saying 'Very soon there are going to be more AI agents than humans making transactions.' Crypto firms like MoonPay are revamping their strategies to be 'agent-first' rather than focused on human users. New standards like Coinbase's x402 are emerging to enable pay-per-use crypto payments for AI agents. However, current transaction volumes through these systems are still quite low, in the tens of millions of dollars.

  • Coinbase's x402 standard launched in May 2025.
  • AI agents have made about 107 million transactions through x402 so far, totaling $30 million in volume.

The players

Brian Armstrong

The CEO of Coinbase, who has become a vocal proponent of crypto being designed for AI agents rather than humans.

Erik Reppel

The creator of the x402 standard and head of engineering at Coinbase Developer Platform.

Rishin Sharma

The head of AI product and growth at the Solana Foundation, who says AI is generating over 70% of the code their team writes.

Jesse Pollak

The creator of Coinbase-incubated Base, the blockchain that has supported most of crypto's agentic payment activity so far.

Haseeb Qureshi

The managing partner at crypto venture firm Dragonfly, who is skeptical of the hype around AI agents in crypto.

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What they’re saying

“Very soon there are going to be more AI agents than humans making transactions.”

— Brian Armstrong, CEO, Coinbase

“We're really thinking holistically across the whole stack—from the core foundation in terms of scaling and decentralization, to the tooling and account model that sits on top of it, all the way up to the interface agents are actually using to interact with products—and asking: how do we make this agent-native?”

— Jesse Pollak, Creator, Coinbase-incubated Base

“A lot of people are overhyping the degree to which this is already happening. The reality is that everything here is basically a toy right now.”

— Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner, Dragonfly

What’s next

Crypto firms will continue building the infrastructure to support AI agents, including new payment rails, standards, and blockchains. They will also need to solve issues around trust, fraud, and risk management to see mainstream adoption.

The takeaway

Crypto's embrace of AI agents represents an attempt to find a new customer base beyond the struggles of getting ordinary people to use its complex systems. However, skeptics warn that crypto is overhyping its ability to displace traditional finance, and that the reality of 'agentic commerce' is still quite limited today.