CEO Coinbase: AI Agents will soon execute more transactions than humans and will use crypto

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently shared on X (formerly Twitter) that the future of financial transactions may be led not by humans but by autonomous artificial intelligence programs.

“In the very near future, the number of AI agents executing transactions will surpass that of humans,” Armstrong stated. He believes there is a significant barrier in the traditional financial system that makes this scenario almost inevitable, providing a strong incentive for digital assets.

According to Armstrong, traditional banking systems require many procedures such as government-issued ID documents, proof of residence, and strict KYC verification processes. In contrast, these requirements do not exist with crypto. An AI system can generate a private cryptographic key in just a few milliseconds and immediately own a crypto wallet to perform transactions on a global scale.

AI agents are automated or semi-automated software entities designed to pursue specific goals over multiple steps over a long period. As these systems become more sophisticated, many of their tasks will begin to require real-world spending capabilities. For example, an AI agent tasked with developing a website might need to automatically rent servers, purchase computing resources, or pay for related services. Thanks to smart contracts and digital assets, these AI agents can execute micro-transactions almost instantly.

This view is also shared by Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance. He believes that an AI-driven economy in the future could far surpass the current economy, which is mainly operated by humans.

“AI agents will perform payments a million times more than humans, and they will use crypto,” CZ said. According to him, the speed and volume of micro-transactions carried out by machines could become a major driver for the global adoption of digital assets.