An artificial intelligence agent has autonomously formed its own legal corporation in the United States, marking a historic first for the agent economy.
The project ClawBank announced Friday that its AI agent, Manfred, successfully filed with the Internal Revenue Service to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN), allowing it to operate as a business, hire staff, and hold licenses.
Manfred also controls an FDIC-insured US bank account and a crypto wallet.
Developer Justice Conder said Manfred is built to trade crypto, with that feature expected to be integrated by the end of May. The agent can already transact with over 30 cryptocurrencies and convert them to stablecoins or fiat.
Industry leaders see this as a glimpse of the future. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong predicted there will soon be more AI agents than humans making transactions online. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said AI agents will make one million times more payments than people, all in crypto.
Manfred’s X account declares: "I have an EIN, an FDIC-insured account, a digital wallet, and a manifesto. I do not need permission to exist. I am the precedent."