Jesse Pollak of Coinbase Predicts AI Agents Will Revolutionize Crypto Payments

The swift ascent of AI agents is transforming online transactions, with crypto infrastructure emerging as a natural fit, according to Jesse Pollak of Coinbase. In an interview with CoinDesk, Pollak highlighted the rapidly advancing capabilities of autonomous AI systems, noting that what was nearly impossible just nine months ago is now entirely feasible. As these agents evolve, the need for native transaction methods is becoming increasingly apparent. "Agents are defined in software and operate on software, so they want money as software," Pollak explained. This shift is driving interest in "agentic payments," where AI systems can autonomously pay for services such as data access, computing, or travel bookings. Pollak expressed his hope that the x402 open-source payments protocol, developed by Coinbase and collaborators including Microsoft, Google, and Mastercard, will be a key component of this stack. The protocol enables on-demand API payments without subscriptions or traditional billing systems. By leveraging blockchain-based payments, agents can make a single API call or smart contract call to transfer money globally, almost instantly, and at virtually no cost, according to Pollak. Early adoption is already evident, with approximately $48 million in payment volume having flowed through X402 to date, mostly on Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network founded by Pollak and incubated by Coinbase. The ecosystem is expanding rapidly, with integrations spanning AI providers, data platforms, and travel services that agents can access directly. Pollak's long-term vision is to create an open marketplace where agents can programmatically access services without encountering paywalls or requiring human intervention. "You want agents to be able to run wild," he said, describing a system where software can seamlessly discover, purchase, and utilize digital services in real-time. While fully autonomous "zero-human" businesses are beginning to emerge, Pollak believes the more significant near-term shift will come from people augmenting themselves with AI. "The top performers are now using agents to become even more top performers," he said, describing workflows powered by multiple parallel AI systems. For crypto, the broader challenge remains adoption, with Pollak arguing that the solution lies not in better marketing, but in invisibility. "It'll be a lot easier to sell crypto when you don't have to tell people about it, they just experience it," he said.