Jesse Pollak of Coinbase Predicts AI Agents Will Revolutionize Crypto Payments

The surge in AI agents is transforming online transactions, with crypto infrastructure becoming a natural fit, according to Jesse Pollak of Coinbase. In an interview with CoinDesk, Pollak noted that what was nearly impossible just nine months ago is now achievable due to the rapid advancement of autonomous AI systems. As AI agents evolve, the need for native transaction methods is becoming increasingly apparent. This shift is driving interest in 'agentic payments,' where AI systems can autonomously pay for services like data access, computing, or travel bookings. Pollak hopes that the x402 open-source payments protocol, developed by Coinbase and collaborators like 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. Instead of relying on legacy systems, blockchain-based payments allow agents to make a single API or smart contract call to move money globally, almost instantly, and at virtually no cost. Early adoption is already visible, with approximately $48 million in payment volume having flowed through X402, mostly on Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network founded by Pollak and incubated by Coinbase. The ecosystem is expanding rapidly, with integrations across 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 hitting 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 use digital services in real-time. While fully autonomous 'zero-human' businesses are emerging, Pollak believes the 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 in invisibility rather than better marketing.