Crypto Firms Build AI Agent Rails for Wallets and Stablecoins as Bitcoin Sits 40% Below Peak
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 7
Crypto Firms Build AI Agent Rails for Wallets and Stablecoins as Bitcoin Sits 40% Below Peak
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 7
Summary
Kraken, Coinbase and Circle are retooling products so AI agents can hold wallet balances, execute trades and use blockchain-based payment rails, a push aimed at finding users beyond crypto traders.
Stablecoins sit at the center of that strategy because always-on, programmable payments fit machine-to-machine commerce better than bank or card networks, giving agents a practical way to settle transactions without human oversight.
Coinbase is letting tools like ChatGPT or Claude trade through natural-language instructions, while Circle is pitching its Arc blockchain and USDC as infrastructure for agentic activity and internet-native payments.
The shift comes during a crypto bear market, with bitcoin still more than 40% below its October peak, pushing exchanges to seek growth in payments, lending and broader financial services rather than speculation alone.
Whether agent demand becomes meaningful is still unclear, but executives argue agentic trading and payments could make crypto more utility-driven and narrow the gap between retail users and professional trading firms.