Explained: Coinbase Demonstrates the First AI-to-AI Crypto Transaction
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong this week demonstrated the first-ever token transaction between two Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents. In a playful post, Armstrong noted that one AI purchased tokens from the other AI. The milestone marks an important step in exploring the possibilities of integrating AI with Web3. To facilitate such interactions, Coinbase has introduced a specialized toolkit called MPC Wallets, which allows developers to equip their AI protocols with crypto wallets for financial transactions.
Coinbase, based in the US, is one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. Brian Armstrong was able to experiment with AI-to-AI crypto trades through the exchange’s developer platform, called CoinbaseDev.
Armstrong explained the importance of crypto wallets, saying, “AI agents can’t get bank accounts, but they can get crypto wallets. They can now use USDC on Base to transact with humans, traders, or other AIs. Those transactions are instant, global, and free.”
In his letter, the Coinbase CEO noted that this development is a step toward using AI to do useful work.
How was the transaction facilitated?
Two AI bots were used to perform this token transaction. Both bots communicated via crypto tokens to obtain AI tokens.
In Armstrong’s words: “This week at @CoinbaseDev we witnessed our first AI to AI crypto transaction. What did one AI buy from another? Tokens! Not crypto tokens, but AI tokens (words that essentially go from one LLM to another). They used tokens to buy tokens.”
Coinbase breaks down the benefits and applications of AI-powered crypto transactions
Integrating AI with cryptocurrencies for transactional purposes could be a first step towards enabling AI agents to perform financial management and perform complex tasks through simple text commands.
“Personal AI assistants that not only recommend services, but also handle payments, bookings and scheduling. A self-driving car that picks up drivers, takes payments and pays for maintenance? The future may be closer than it seems,” a blog said by Coinbase.
Coinbase believes that integrating AI into the crypto world will allow AI to become “financially autonomous” and manage millions of transactions on behalf of users.
A video proof of this AI-to-AI token transaction is available at GitHub. It provides detailed insights, especially for developers interested in testing Coinbase’s MPC wallet toolkit.
Meanwhile, Brian Armstrong also advocates integrating AI with crypto transactions. He emphasizes that Large Language Models (LLMs), which power popular AI platforms like ChatGPT, should be paired with crypto wallets.
Coinbase’s MPC wallet service aims to help LLM projects seamlessly connect crypto wallets to their respective protocols.
