Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong: AI Agents Will Surpass Humans in This Field

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has announced that AI agents will perform more transactions than humans in the future and that crypto will serve as the fundamental financial infrastructure in this process.

One of the leading figures in the cryptocurrency world, Brian Armstrong, emphasized that artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrencies are not competitors, but rather two giant complementary trends. According to Armstrong, AI agents have the potential to soon surpass all of humanity in daily transaction volume. For these autonomous systems to sustain their economic activities, the most reliable path lies through cryptocurrency infrastructure.

In his messages, Armstrong defines crypto as a general-purpose infrastructure technology, much like electricity or the internet. Stating that the rise of AI does not diminish the importance of crypto but instead makes it even more critical, the CEO expressed that these two technologies should be viewed as “both/and” rather than “either/or.” In line with this vision, Coinbase is taking concrete steps to bring the concept of Agentic Finance to life.

Coinbase’s AI Vision: Agentic Finance

The company is bringing together the Base network, the USDC stablecoin, and the x402 protocol to enable AI agents to play an active role in the financial world. x402 stands out as a specialized protocol that allows AI agents to make payments to each other or to systems. Base serves as a Layer-2 network that ensures these transactions are fast and low-cost.

In this ecosystem, USDC assumes the role of the primary currency by ensuring that value transfers are made with a secure and stable unit. Armstrong predicts that the combination of these technological components will transform AI into a massive growth engine for crypto. Thus, autonomous systems will be able to make and execute their own financial decisions without the need for human intervention.