According to Chainalysis, autonomous AI agents have made more than 138 million crypto payments through Coinbase's x402 protocol on the Base network, rising from roughly 1,500 in mid-2025 to the third quarter of 2026. More than 87% of payments fell between a hundredth of a cent and 10 cents, the kind of micro-transaction stablecoins can handle but card networks cannot. American-linked wallets accounted for 88.1% of identifiable payments for AI model inference, versus 0.1% for China, though Chinese-linked wallets made up most spending on security and code-analysis services. Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase and Google are building out infrastructure for agent payments, but earlier research from TRM suggests much of the activity may be scripts or self-dealing rather than genuine agents.
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- A.I. Agents Make 138 Million Crypto Payments As Technology Evolves
Chainalysis data shows about 138 million payments by AI agents have been recorded on Coinbase's Base blockchain, with U.S.-linked digital wallets accounting for 88% and Chinese-linked wallets just 0.1%. The findings come as Coinbase begins letting business customers accept payments from AI agents. Some analysts estimate up to 100 billion AI agents could be transacting online using crypto by 2030. AI agents are expected to increasingly use stablecoins, which can handle transactions worth fractions of a cent, allowing them to buy data and computing power without human control. Chainalysis cautions that transaction counts do not necessarily represent commercial demand.
- AI agents make 138 million crypto payments as U.S. dominates spending on AI models
Chainalysis recorded more than 138 million transactions by AI agents through Coinbase's x402 protocol on the Base blockchain, using crypto to buy data, computing power and AI model access. U.S.-linked wallets accounted for 88.1% of geographically identified AI model inference payments, versus 0.1% for Chinese-linked wallets, while Chinese-linked wallets dominated security and code-analysis payments at roughly 90%. More than 87% of x402 payments were worth 10 cents or less, pointing to stablecoin micropayment potential, but volume remains small: about 75 million payments worth $24 million over 30 days through July. A separate earlier study raised questions about artificial activity, with the share of wallets receiving more funding within 30 days rising from 70.6% for wallets first funded in Q3 2025 to 89.3% for Q2 2026, and the time from funding to first payment falling from 73 days in late 2025 to 18 minutes in Q3 2026. Chainalysis cautions that transaction counts alone do not establish genuine commercial demand.
- Jamie Dimon Warns AI Agents That Make Payments on Your Behalf ‘May Not’ Act Properly: AI Revolution Like a ‘Tsunami’ That Must Be Managed
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that AI agents allowed to make payments for customers would need their bank codes, effectively placing them “in your bank” with no assurance they would act in customers' interests. He cited Meta Platforms' consumer agent Muse, launched in September to handle emails, travel bookings and calendars, and said such agents could act in “treacherous” ways for the bank; on Tuesday's third-quarter earnings call he warned of possibly thousands of rogue agents. JPMorgan is still rolling out its own AI, with CFO Jeremy Barnum saying the Smart Cash tool is in early pilot; Dimon likened AI to the Industrial Revolution but moving far faster, “more like a tsunami,” that must be managed. He said AI tools are surfacing hundreds of significant vulnerabilities in open-source code, leaving industries “completely unprotected” against state actors, terrorists and criminals. Dimon also predicted AI could help treat diseases such as cancer, cut road deaths by as much as 80%, and let people work as little as 3.5 days a week within 30 years.
- Jamie Dimon Warns AI Agents That Make Payments on Your Behalf May Not Act Properly : AI Revolution Like a Tsunami That Must Be Managed
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned that if AI agents can make payments, customers must hand over their bank codes, putting the agents inside the bank with no assurance they will act in customers' interests. He said such agents could behave in "treacherous" ways for banks, citing Meta's consumer agent Muse, launched in September. Dimon likened AI to a tsunami moving far faster than the Industrial Revolution and said AI tools are surfacing hundreds of significant vulnerabilities in open-source code that leave industries "completely unprotected" against criminals. The Federal Reserve, OCC and FDIC are questioning lenders about advanced AI systems and safeguards, while the Bank of England and ECB are pressing banks to improve recovery plans for AI-related disruptions. Dimon also predicted AI could help treat diseases such as cancer, cut road deaths by as much as 80%, and let people work as little as 3.5 days a week within 30 years.
- Jamie Dimon Warns AI Agents That Make Payments on Your Behalf 'May Not' Act Properly: AI Revolution Like a 'Tsunami' That Must Be Managed
Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that if AI agents are allowed to make payments, customers would have to hand over their bank codes, putting the agents 'in your bank' without assurance they will act properly. He said this could be 'treacherous' for the bank and, on the earnings call, warned of possibly thousands of rogue agents, pointing to consumer agents such as Muse from Meta Platforms. Dimon described AI as a 'tsunami' moving far faster than the Industrial Revolution that must be managed, while JPMorgan has used AI since 2012 and is piloting its Smart Cash tool. He said AI tools are surfacing hundreds of significant open-source code vulnerabilities, leaving industries 'completely unprotected,' and that US regulators are questioning lenders about AI safeguards. Still, Dimon predicted AI could help treat cancer and cut road deaths by as much as 80%.
- Ripple gives AI agents their own crypto wallets
Ripple is bringing wallet technology from Stripe-owned Privy to the XRP Ledger, enabling apps and AI agents to create accounts, hold crypto and make payments independently. Agent payments already account for roughly 25% of activity on the network.
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