Coinbase Launches AI Agent Checkout, Lets Bots Buy Direct

Coinbase Global Inc. is extending its payments infrastructure into a new market: AI agents that can transact autonomously without human intervention. The company is rolling out a feature through Coinbase Business powered by Coinbase Payments and x402, an open internet payment standard developed by the exchange. Merchants can now accept payments directly from AI agents using the same checkout product they use for traditional goods and services, eliminating the need to build a separate system. Head of Coinbase Business Siddharth Coelho-Prabhu said owners can now sell directly to agents with "not any extra work," while the software completes transactions through machine-readable payment instructions.

Coinbase Business itself is a young but growing unit. It launched in June 2025 and has already signed up about 5,000 customers, processed roughly $1 billion（約1600億円） in combined payments and trading volume, and grown to a team of about 12 employees. Coelho-Prabhu described agentic payments as one of Coinbase's "most high-conviction bets," noting that the company began investing in autonomous commerce several years ago after identifying it as a major internet shift.

To support this ecosystem, Coinbase is also shipping Coinbase for Agents, which connects AI systems with trading and investment workflows, alongside a software development kit that helps developers add x402 payments to online services. Together, these pieces form an end-to-end system: agents can discover developer documentation, create and fund wallets, pay merchants through Coinbase Business, and settle transactions in USDC across Base or other supported networks. Early adoption has centered on digital infrastructure, with AI agents already purchasing API access, domain names, OpenRouter credits, and cloud storage from providers including Amazon and Google. Data shows material traction—around 53% of traffic to Base documentation beginning in June came from agentic visitors. By positioning stablecoins as the settlement rail for autonomous software, Coinbase is giving merchants access to a customer base that may increasingly operate without human checkout.

Coinbase's move into agentic payments reflects a deliberate, multi-year strategic shift the company identified as a major internet shift toward autonomous commerce. By launching Coinbase Business in June 2025 and rapidly scaling it to 5,000 customers and $1 billion（約1600億円） in processed volume within months, Coinbase has positioned itself ahead of a potential wave of AI-driven transactions. The feature leverages the company's existing stablecoin infrastructure—specifically USDC and the Base network—turning Coinbase into a settlement layer for software that transacts independently. Head of Coinbase Business Siddharth Coelho-Prabhu framed the offering as requiring "not any extra work" from merchants, meaning businesses can accept agent payments through the same product used for goods and services, lowering friction for adoption. Early data shows the bet is not merely theoretical: around 53% of traffic to Base documentation beginning in June came from agentic visitors, and agents are already actively purchasing digital infrastructure such as API access and cloud storage. By shipping Coinbase for Agents alongside a developer SDK, Coinbase is building an end-to-end stack that connects AI systems to wallets, payments, and settlement—effectively betting that autonomous commerce will become a material revenue stream.

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