Coinbase CEO: AI will make cryptocurrency more important, and Coinbase is building Agentic Finance

Odaily Planet Daily News Brian Armstrong posted on platform X, stating that "if you're in crypto, pivot to AI" is a flawed worldview, driven by zero-sum, scarcity thinking. Cryptocurrency is a universal technology and infrastructure, much like electricity or the internet. It doesn't compete with the next big thing; instead, it underpins it. The rise of AI as a major trend will not weaken cryptocurrency but will make it even more crucial. AI Agents will need their own financial infrastructure, and future daily transaction volumes will far surpass the combined total of all humans. AI Agents cannot open bank accounts, cannot wait three days for a wire transfer, and are not confined to a single nation; they require 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, which currently support the vast majority of Agentic payments. AI Agents will also participate in trades, act as financial advisors, raise or borrow funds for new projects, and handle tasks like tax planning, portfolio rebalancing, and bill payments. Brian Armstrong states that this is Agentic Finance, or AiFi, and Coinbase is building this domain.