Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Oversees First Crypto Transaction Completely Managed by AI Bots

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently oversaw his first crypto transaction completely managed by artificial intelligence bots, following several industry efforts to develop platforms for AI agents to execute transactions.

Coinbase CEO oversaw his first crypto transaction, which was completely managed by AI bots, following several industry efforts to develop platforms for AI agents to execute transactions.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced the first AI-to-AI crypto transaction in an Aug. 30 X post.

According to Armstrong, one AI agent, or “bot,” used crypto tokens to interact with another AI agent and acquire AI tokens, which are essentially strings of data that enable algorithms to learn from information.

“They used tokens to buy tokens,” Armstrong explained, adding that a key reason AI agents aren’t very useful right now is their lack of transaction capabilities. Without a payment method, they struggle with basic tasks like booking plane tickets or hotels and even managing social media tasks beyond just creating content, such as promoting posts with paid ads.

“AI agents cannot get bank accounts, but they can get crypto wallets. They can now use USDC on Base to transact with humans, merchants, or other AIs. Those transactions are instant, global, and free,” Armstrong noted.

This development comes only weeks after Armstrong called for large language models (LLMs) — the technology behind AI systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude — to have crypto wallets. “Let’s help AI agents get work done (on your behalf) and participate in the economy,” Armstrong stated.

Several crypto firms have recently launched new platforms to give AI agents the ability to execute transactions.

In August, Blockchain development firm Skyfire launched a payment platform that allows AI agents to spend money autonomously.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Web3 infrastructure firm Biconomy is onboarding AI agents to enable onchain transactions on behalf of users.

Biconomy co-founder Aniket Jindal told Cointelegraph that the Delegated Authorization Network is “relatively new” and serves as an authorization layer that allows the delegation of trading activities to AI agents.