Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Pioneers First AI-Driven Crypto Transaction
In a groundbreaking moment for the crypto industry, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently oversaw his first fully automated cryptocurrency transaction, managed entirely by artificial intelligence agents. This marks a significant milestone as the industry explores new platforms enabling AI to independently execute financial transactions.
“This week at @CoinbaseDev, we witnessed our first AI-to-AI crypto transaction,” Armstrong announced on X (formerly Twitter) on August 30.
AI Agents Trading Tokens Independently
Armstrong detailed that the transaction involved one AI agent—essentially a specialized bot—using cryptocurrency tokens to interact with another AI agent and purchase AI-specific tokens. These tokens, which represent strings of data, are critical for enabling machine learning algorithms to process information.
“They used tokens to buy tokens,” Armstrong emphasized, highlighting the novel nature of this interaction.
He further elaborated that a significant limitation of current AI agents is their inability to conduct transactions. Without access to payment methods, these agents struggle with even basic tasks such as booking travel or managing social media beyond content creation—tasks like running paid promotions, for example.
“AI agents can’t open bank accounts, but they can get crypto wallets. They can now use USDC on Base to transact with humans, merchants, or other AIs. These transactions are instant, global, and free,” Armstrong added, pointing to the potential for AI to more fully participate in the economy.
The Future of AI-Driven Transactions
This development comes on the heels of Armstrong’s recent advocacy for equipping large language models (LLMs)—the technology that powers AI systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude—with crypto wallets. “Let’s help AI agents get work done (on your behalf) and participate in the economy,” Armstrong previously stated.
The concept of AI agents executing transactions isn’t just a theoretical one. In recent months, several crypto firms have introduced platforms to enable this capability.
In August, blockchain development company Skyfire launched a payment platform that allows AI agents to autonomously manage and spend funds. Similarly, in June, Web3 infrastructure firm Biconomy began integrating AI agents to facilitate on-chain transactions on behalf of users.
Aniket Jindal, co-founder of Biconomy, explained that their Delegated Authorization Network (DAN) is a relatively new technology. It serves as an authorization layer, allowing users to delegate trading activities to AI agents, further enhancing the role of AI in financial transactions.
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