John D’Agostino, head of institutional technique at Coinbase, defined this imaginative and prescient throughout a CNBC interview on September 30, 2025. He argued that asking AI brokers to work with century-old monetary methods is not sensible in at present’s fast-paced digital world.
The Dial-Up Modem Downside
D’Agostino used a easy comparability to elucidate the difficulty. He stated attempting to run AI brokers on conventional monetary methods is like attempting to stream a film on a dial-up modem. It simply doesn’t work.
“If we’re going to maneuver to this world and have this excellent benefit of those brokers performing at infinitely quick speeds, they must act on infinitely quick and scalable cash rails. And that’s what blockchain and crypto is,” D’Agostino advised CNBC.
Supply: @johnjdagostino
Conventional banks weren’t constructed for machines to ship funds to one another immediately. They had been designed for people doing enterprise throughout particular hours. AI brokers, alternatively, work 24/7 and have to make transactions in seconds, not days.
Why AI Brokers Want Blockchain
D’Agostino emphasised that AI brokers working on behalf of individuals have to work with dependable, clear info. Blockchain gives what he referred to as an “infinitely scalable supply of reality” that pairs naturally with AI’s capabilities.
The present monetary system creates too many bottlenecks. When AI brokers have to make funds, confirm transactions, or transfer cash throughout borders, conventional banking methods gradual every thing down. Cryptocurrency and blockchain take away these boundaries.
AI brokers are already lively within the crypto area. They’re constructing Web3 functions, launching tokens, and dealing with varied protocols with out human oversight. Some platforms are testing AI brokers for automated buying and selling methods.
Coinbase Builds Instruments for AI Brokers
Coinbase hasn’t simply talked about this imaginative and prescient—they’re constructing it. In October 2024, the corporate launched “Based Agent,” a template that lets anybody create their very own AI agent with a crypto pockets in underneath three minutes.
These AI brokers can deal with a number of duties on the blockchain, together with trades, token swaps, and staking. The corporate additionally developed AgentKit, a bigger framework that helps builders construct AI brokers that may work together with blockchain networks independently.
Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, has been vocal about AI brokers needing their very own crypto wallets. In August 2024, he witnessed his first transaction the place AI bots used crypto tokens to work together with one other AI agent and purchase AI tokens—all with out human involvement.
Google Companions with Coinbase on AI Funds
The thought of AI brokers utilizing crypto for funds gained main assist when Google entered the image. On September 16, 2025, Google launched the Agent Payments Protocol in partnership with Coinbase and over 60 different firms.
This new system lets AI assistants spend cash on behalf of customers by way of each conventional cost strategies and stablecoins—digital currencies designed to take care of regular values tied to the U.S. greenback.
Erik Reppel, Coinbase’s head of engineering, defined the collaboration merely: “We’re all working to determine how we will make AI transmit worth to one another.”
The timing is sensible. Stablecoin transactions hit $5.7 trillion in 2024, with a 66% enhance within the first quarter of 2025. Main monetary establishments are paying consideration—Citigroup tasks the stablecoin market might attain $3.7 trillion by 2030.
The Rising AI Agent Economic system
The AI agent economic system is increasing quickly. In keeping with a report by asset supervisor VanEck, blockchain networks might host over one million AI agents by the top of 2025. At the moment, round 10,000 AI brokers are collectively incomes hundreds of thousands of {dollars} weekly by way of blockchain actions.
Initiatives like ai16z exhibit what’s potential. This platform runs an AI agent referred to as “Eliza” that manages a liquidity pool on the blockchain and reportedly generates annual returns above 60%. These aren’t easy bots—they’re refined packages that be taught, adapt, and make monetary selections.
The infrastructure for AI brokers extends past simply funds. These digital staff can take part in decentralized finance, handle portfolios, optimize buying and selling methods, and even vote in decentralized organizations. They do all this with out getting drained, making emotional selections, or needing sleep.
Not Everybody Expects Immediate Change
Regardless of the thrill round AI brokers and crypto, D’Agostino warned towards anticipating establishments to hurry into this area in a single day. He famous that pensions, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds transfer cautiously.
“They don’t spend money on waves,” he stated. “They’re not lemmings operating over a cliff in some large wave. They’re very, very cautious. They’re very considerate.”
D’Agostino additionally addressed the frequent comparability between Bitcoin and gold, arguing they shouldn’t be in contrast in any respect. Bitcoin affords options gold can’t—it’s programmable, digital, straightforward to maneuver throughout borders, and might generate yield.
The Highway Forward
The mixture of AI and cryptocurrency represents a big shift in how monetary methods may function. As AI brokers grow to be extra succesful, they’ll want cost methods that match their pace and effectivity. Conventional banking infrastructure wasn’t designed for this future.
Greater than 60 firms, together with American Specific, Mastercard, and PayPal, are actually engaged on options for AI agent funds. This means the pattern extends past simply crypto fanatics—mainstream monetary firms see worth in adapting to this new actuality.
The query isn’t whether or not AI brokers will want higher cost methods, however whether or not these methods can be constructed on blockchain know-how or another innovation. Based mostly on present developments, cryptocurrency and blockchain look like main the way in which.
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