Coinbase launches tool to let AI agents manage trading and payments

Coinbase launched a tool called Coinbase for Agents that allows AI agents (software programs that can make decisions and take actions automatically) like ChatGPT or Claude to execute cryptocurrency trades and make payments on behalf of users using natural language instructions. The tool uses Coinbase's x402 machine-to-machine payments protocol (a system that lets AI agents pay for digital services directly without human involvement) and is expected to expand to stock trading and other financial activities, positioning AI agents as primary economic actors on the internet.