An era where AI is taking over every aspect of the world, it is moving deeper into financial systems as well, and crypto firms are profiling themself more deeper. Coinbase has taken a major step with the launch of Agentic Wallet, a new infrastructure tool made for autonomous AI agents.
AI agents independently holding funds, sending payments, trading tokens, and paying for services directly onchain, It may sound like giving up control to bots, which can feel scary, but it is streamlined and permission based. Unlike traditional wallets that are controlled by individuals, these wallets are built to be operated by AI systems within predefined security limits. Coinbase says the goal is to move AI from simply suggesting actions to actually executing financial transactions.
From AI assistants to autonomous financial actors
AI agents are everywhere, yet when money is involved, most systems require human approval before a transaction is completed. Coinbase argues that this limitation prevents AI from operating as a true economic participant.
Agentic Wallet gives AI agents their own wallets, allowing them to hold USDC, make payments, trade tokens, and pay for APIs autonomously. If a better yield opportunity is identified, it can rebalance funds automatically.
Inside Coinbase’s AI infrastructure
Agentic Wallet runs on Coinbase’s Base Layer 2 network. Coinbase’s command-line interface, “awal CLI,” makes it easier for developers to manage wallet operations. The system integration with x402 allows agents to both consume and provide paid APIs
The security concerns raised with bot interacting with your funds, Coinbase stated that private keys remain isolated within the secure Coinbase infrastructure. AI agents never directly access the keys. The wallet includes configurable spending caps per session and per transaction, programmable guardrails, and transaction screening mechanisms designed to block high-risk interactions before they occur. These controls make agents operate rigidly within preset financial boundaries.
The wallet infrastructure also relies on Coinbase’s x402 payments protocol, first launched in 2025. The protocol revives the unused HTTP 402 “Payment Required” status code to enable machine-to-machine crypto payments without human intervention. Since its launch, x402 has processed more than 50 million transactions. In December 2025, Coinbase rolled out version 2.0 of the protocol, expanding support across additional chains and legacy payment rails, and strengthening its role in stablecoin-based AI payments
Apart from seeing Coinbase as an exchange earning revenue from trading fees and stablecoin partnerships, the launch of Agentic Wallet expands into developer tools, payments infrastructure, and blockchain services.
