Coinbase CEO: AI Will Make Cryptocurrency More Important, Coinbase is Building Agentic Finance

Brian Armstrong posted on X platform, stating that "if you are in crypto, switch to AI" is a misguided worldview, reflecting zero-sum and scarcity thinking. Cryptocurrency is a universal technology and infrastructure, similar to electricity or the internet, which does not compete with the next big thing but rather underpins it. The rise of AI as a major trend will not weaken cryptocurrency; instead, it will make cryptocurrency more important. AI Agents will require their own financial infrastructure, with daily transaction volumes in the future far exceeding the total of all humans. AI Agents cannot open bank accounts, cannot wait three days for wire transfers, and are not confined to a single country; they need real-time programmable money. AI Agents will need to hold their own funds and pay fees. Coinbase is already exploring this direction through the x402 protocol, Base, and USDC, with these technologies currently supporting the vast majority of Agentic payments. AI Agents will also participate in trading and act as financial advisors, raise or borrow funds for new projects, and handle tasks such as tax planning, portfolio rebalancing, and bill payments. Brian Armstrong stated that this is Agentic Finance, or AiFi, and Coinbase is building this field.