Coinbase Defends Blockchain in the Face of AI Hype

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is pushing back against the trend of companies in the crypto industry prioritizing artificial intelligence over blockchain technology.

Armstrong believes that AI and blockchain are complementary technologies, rather than competitors, and should work together to support future digital uses.

The Coinbase leader emphasized that blockchain represents a general infrastructure, similar to the internet or electricity, which underpins future innovations. He referred to it as an 'and,' not an 'or' situation.

Coinbase is developing Agentic Finance (AiFi), a platform that enables automated payments between AI agents using its Base blockchain and the x402 protocol.