Coinbase AiFi Seizes Opportunity in Accelerating AI Adoption

Coinbase's AI-enabled payment system, Coinbase AiFi, is gaining traction as the adoption of artificial intelligence accelerates. According to CEO Brian Armstrong, AI agents will require programmable digital currencies, making Coinbase AiFi more relevant.

Armstrong emphasized that crypto is a general-purpose technology, comparable to electricity or the internet, and infrastructure for AI payments. He stated that AI-based agents will actively participate in the digital economy through transactions, API access, and digital service purchases.

Coinbase's Base blockchain, USDC stablecoin, and x402 payment protocol are the building blocks of Coinbase AiFi. The company launched Base in 2023 as a layer-2 network to make blockchain apps faster and cheaper. The x402 payment protocol helps applications and AI agents make automatic payments via stablecoins for digital assets.

The combination of Base, x402, and USDC makes up the backbone of Coinbase AiFi. According to Chainalysis, agentic payments made via x402 on Base exceeded 100 million on-chain transactions in about nine months last June.