Visa is ready for AI agents. So is Coinbase. They're building very different internets

In partnership with

Want to get the most out of ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a superpower if you know how to use it correctly.

Discover how HubSpot's guide to AI can elevate both your productivity and creativity to get more things done.

Learn to automate tasks, enhance decision-making, and foster innovation with the power of AI.

Download the free guide

Stablecoins and Crypto as the Backbone

Crypto proponents, including teams from Coinbase and Circle, argue that stablecoins (like USD Coin) are better suited for AI payments than traditional credit systems. That’s because stablecoins are:

• Programmable — they can be controlled by software agents

• Fast to settle — close to real‑time

• Low cost per transaction — fractions of a cent are feasible

This is why some builders see stablecoins as the actual payment rails for machine economies.

In contrast, credit cards often charge minimum fees that make sub‑cent transactions impractical for bots.

x402 — Turning HTTP into a Payment Protocol

One of the biggest technical innovations is x402, an open standard that repurposes the less‑used HTTP 402 “Payment Required” status so that a web service can request payment as part of a web request itself.

• An API or data service can directly charge an AI agent during a normal HTTP call

• Payment logic becomes part of the internet protocol layer

• Stablecoins (like USDC) settle these microtransactions in real time
  This essentially lets a bot pay for usage without an API key or subscription — payment is native to the request itself.

Key properties of x402:

• Instant settlement: no waiting days for clearing

• Micropayment friendly: fractions of a cent per request

• Programmability: payments triggered by code logic

• Chain‑agnostic: works with different blockchains under the hood

Why this matters: instead of humans doing “checkout,” an agent can find and pay for services instantly — think paying per API call, per gigabyte of data, or per millisecond of compute — without any manual billing.

Payments Without Humans at the Keyboard

A new trend in fintech and crypto is the idea that the next major payment network won’t look like today’s “checkout” system with card numbers, CVV codes, and people clicking “Pay.” Instead, it will be machine‑to‑machine (M2M) — autonomous agents interacting, buying services, and settling accounts thousands of times per second.

This matters because AI systems today often can’t pay directly — they usually have to go through human‑owned credit cards or API billing systems, which weren’t designed for millions of tiny transactions with near‑instant.

Stablecoins as Native Money

Most of these new payment rails are tied to stablecoins like USDC (a cryptocurrency pegged 1:1 to the US dollar).
Why stablecoins?

• Programmable and chain‑native: smart contracts can automate payments

• Low cost and fast settlement: near‑instant confirmations

• Global and borderless: no traditional bank intermediaries

Companies like Circle Internet Group (issuer of USDC) and Stripe are building machine‑to‑machine micropayment infrastructure specifically to let autonomous software transact using stablecoins rather than credit cards.

What to Watch this Week

 🎙️AI on Fire: Real Builders. Real Heat.

Stories from people building AI Agents. Explore all episodes here

Building with AI Agents? Come talk about it.

AI on Fire is the podcast where we speak with founders and builders shaping the agent economy.

👉 Apply to be a guest

🏆 The Leaderboard Never Sleeps

The global ranking of AI agents is shifting every day. Who’s on top? Who just dropped?

👉 Explore the Leaderboard →

🗺️ The Map of AI Agents (Live & Growing)

We’re charting the entire AI agent ecosystem — thousands of options across categories.
Your next agent is already on the map.

👉 Explore the Landscape Map →