Financial apps have become faster and smarter over the years, but one thing has stayed the same: a human must approve the final move. Even the most advanced AI tools can analyze markets, track prices, and suggest strategies, yet they stop short of actually moving funds. That gap between insight and action has limited how autonomous software can truly be. 

Coinbase is now attempting to close that gap. The company has introduced Agentic Wallets, a new crypto wallet designed specifically for AI agents. These wallets allow AI systems to hold assets, execute trades, and complete blockchain transactions on their own, marking a shift from AI as a financial assistant to AI as an active participant. 

The wallets are built around Coinbase’s developer infrastructure and use a payments standard known as x402, a protocol designed to enable machine-to-machine value transfers. According to Coinbase, the protocol has already processed tens of millions of transactions, laying the groundwork for automated economic activity between software systems. In practical terms, this means an AI agent could rebalance a crypto portfolio at midnight, pay for API access, or allocate funds to a yield strategy without waiting for manual approval. 

Coinbase framed the launch as part of a broader shift in how AI interacts with financial systems. “Give your agent the power of a wallet. Let your agent manage funds, hold identity, and transact onchain without human intervention.” the company said in its announcement on X.

Built-In Guardrails for Autonomy 

Letting software control funds raises obvious questions about security and compliance. Coinbase says the wallets include programmable spending limits, session controls, and built-in compliance screening to reduce risk. Private keys are managed within Coinbase’s secure infrastructure rather than being exposed directly to developers. The goal, according to the company, is to balance autonomy with institutional-grade safeguards. 

The wallets also support gasless trading on Base, Coinbase’s Layer-2 network built on Ethereum. In simple terms, this allows transactions to be executed without the agent needing to manually manage network fees, which can otherwise interrupt automated strategies. For AI systems operating continuously, removing that friction is key. 

Developers can create and fund these wallets using Coinbase’s command-line tools, integrating pre-built functions for sending funds, trading tokens, and earning yield. This reduces the need to write complex smart contract code from scratch, lowering the technical barrier for teams experimenting with AI-driven financial tools. 

Coinbase’s move comes at a time when interest in AI agents is accelerating across industries. Startups are building autonomous trading bots, decentralized research assistants, and software agents that negotiate or transact on behalf of users. At the same time, crypto infrastructure has matured to the point where programmable money is reliable enough for automated systems to use. 

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TechloyJemi Motesho