Coinbase's Jesse Pollak believes artificial intelligence agents are set to transform online payments, with cryptocurrency infrastructure proving an ideal foundation. He notes that autonomous AI systems now possess capabilities that were previously unimaginable, highlighting a critical need for native transactional methods.
"Agents are defined in software and operating software, they want money as software," Pollak stated. This sentiment is driving interest in "agentic payments," where AI systems can autonomously manage transactions for services like data access, computing power, or travel.
Pollak sees the open-source payments protocol x402 as a key component in this evolution. Developed by Coinbase and collaborators including Microsoft, Google, and Mastercard, x402 enables on-demand API payments without traditional billing systems. Blockchain-based payments allow agents to execute global, instant, and nearly cost-free transactions via simple API or smart contract calls.
X402 has already facilitated approximately $48 million in payment volume, with 95% of transactions occurring on Base, Coinbase's Ethereum layer-2 network. The protocol is expanding with integrations across AI providers, data platforms, and travel services.
The long-term objective is to establish an open marketplace where agents can programmatically discover, purchase, and utilize digital services in real-time, minimizing human intervention.
Pollak also commented on crypto adoption, arguing that the solution lies not in marketing, but in making the technology invisible and seamlessly experiential.