August 14, 2025
5 min read
Annika Masrani
AI Agents Could Become Ethereum’s Biggest Power Users, Coinbase Developers Say
Autonomous AI agents are programs that can make decisions and complete tasks without human control. According to Coinbase developers Kevin Leffew and Lincoln Murr, these agents could transform Ethereum’s role in global commerce. They believe this shift will happen because of the revival of an internet standard from 30 years ago.The Revival of HTTP 402 Enables Automated Crypto Payments
That standard is HTTP 402, also called “Payment Required.” When combined with Ethereum Improvement Proposal 3009, it allows AI agents to send stablecoin payments automatically. The Ethereum Foundation highlighted the development this week, presenting it as a big step toward blockchain-powered automation.How It Works Like a Vending Machine
To understand the idea, it helps to picture something familiar. Much like a vending machine, an AI agent receives a payment request, signs a transaction, and sends the funds. Once the payment is confirmed, the service delivers what was requested, whether that is data, storage, or computing power. Because the process works instantly, it removes the need for traditional accounts or manual approvals. In other words, it turns APIs into services that can directly check a wallet’s balance and process a payment in one simple step.Why Ethereum Fits the Job
This is where Ethereum’s strengths come into play. Its settlement system can handle payments instantly without the delays and intermediaries of traditional finance. Instead of invoices and disputes that can take days, Ethereum processes everything on the spot. Furthermore, stablecoins make the process even more reliable by eliminating the price swings common with other cryptocurrencies. According to the developers, AI agents “need atomic payments, programmable policies, and composable wallets. Ethereum and stablecoins give them exactly that.” That combination makes Ethereum the natural home for this kind of technology.Early Examples Show the Potential
The shift is already starting. For example, Hyperbolic Labs has integrated HTTP 402 into its large language model AI. This allows it to buy the data it needs automatically. Prodia Labs is using it to pay for the creation of images and videos. Moreover, Coinbase has also built its own version called the “x402 payments protocol,” available for other developers on GitHub. By connecting multiple services in a chain, AI agents could eventually create complete economic loops without human involvement. This ties into a trend already visible in crypto markets. AI agents are trading cryptocurrencies by reading market data and executing orders in real time. If they can also pay for services directly, their role could expand into areas like transportation, content creation, and data management. Self-driving taxis could pay for their own charging stations. Content-producing AI could store its work instantly. If this adoption accelerates, AI agents could become Ethereum’s biggest power users and help push blockchain technology into the mainstream far beyond just the crypto space. At the time of writing, Ethereum is sitting at $4,710.12.Source: Originally published at TipRanks on Thu, 14 Aug 2025 11:35:20 GMT