AI Agents Record 138 Million Crypto Payments as US Dominates AI Model Spending
AI agents are increasingly using cryptocurrency to pay for digital services, with more than 138 million transactions recorded through Coinbase's x402 payment protocol on the Base blockchain. However, the United States accounts for the overwhelming majority of geographically identified spending on AI model inference, according to a report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
US-linked wallets represented 88.1% of geographically identified payments for AI model inference, while wallets linked to China accounted for just 0.1%, Chainalysis found in its report, "Inside North America's $3 Trillion Crypto Economy: Agentic Commerce Accelerates," released Wednesday.
The findings highlight an emerging use case for cryptocurrency in which autonomous AI systems purchase data, computing resources and other digital services without requiring a person to approve every transaction. However, the number of recorded payments does not necessarily indicate the scale of genuine commercial demand.
US Dominates AI Agent Crypto Payments
The substantial gap between US-linked and China-linked wallets could reflect differences in how developers access artificial intelligence models, according to Eric Jardine, Chainalysis' head of research.
"One possible explanation is that Chinese developers are more inclined to use open-weight models such as DeepSeek and Qwen, reducing their need to purchase metered inference services," Jardine told CoinDesk.
Open-weight models can be deployed in different ways, potentially reducing reliance on externally billed AI inference services. Jardine's explanation offers one possible reason for the spending disparity, rather than establishing a definitive cause.
The data comes as payments companies and cryptocurrency businesses explore infrastructure designed to support automated transactions between AI systems and digital service providers.
Coinbase's x402 Protocol Enables Automated Payments
Much of the reported activity runs through x402, a payment protocol incubated by Coinbase that enables AI agents to pay for digital services using cryptocurrency. The system is designed to facilitate automated payments when software requests access to online resources.
Chainalysis found that more than 87% of analyzed x402 payments were worth between one-hundredth of a cent and 10 cents. These small transactions would generally be uneconomical to process through traditional credit card networks, making cryptocurrency-based payment infrastructure a potential alternative for low-value digital purchases.
Stablecoins are particularly relevant to this model because they can support payments worth fractions of a cent. AI agents could use them to purchase data, computing power and other services as needed, without requiring manual approval for each transaction.
Coinbase has also begun allowing business customers to accept payments from AI agents. Meanwhile, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe and other major payments companies have backed the x402 protocol, reflecting growing industry interest in infrastructure for machine-driven commerce.
AI Agents Could Become a New Source of Crypto Demand
Some industry executives expect autonomous software to become a significant category of internet users and cryptocurrency customers. Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, recently told CoinDesk that he estimates as many as 100 billion AI agents could be transacting on the internet over the next few years, using cryptocurrency to make payments.
Stephanie Cohen, Cloudflare's chief strategy officer, has also highlighted the potential role of stablecoins in automated commerce. "Stablecoins are particularly well suited to the kinds of transactions we expect AI agents to make at first," Cohen told CoinDesk.
These projections point to a potential expansion of cryptocurrency payments beyond human users. AI agents could make repeated, low-value purchases for software access, information and computing resources, creating demand for payment systems capable of handling large numbers of small transactions.
x402 Transaction Volumes Raise Questions About Commercial Demand
Despite the high transaction count, the financial value of x402 activity remains comparatively modest. In July, the protocol processed approximately 75 million payments worth $24 million over a 30-day period.
Earlier research also raised questions about whether some activity on the network was artificial. As a result, transaction counts alone should not be treated as conclusive evidence of widespread commercial adoption or sustainable revenue generation.
The Chainalysis findings provide evidence that cryptocurrency-based payments are being used in emerging AI commerce applications. Whether this activity develops into a substantial commercial market will depend in part on genuine demand for paid AI services and the extent to which automated transactions represent real economic activity.
data source:coindesk.com
Writer: Ethan Collins
Crypto Journalist
Ethan Collins reports on developments across the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. His work covers market movements, protocol updates, regulatory changes, and emerging trends in digital assets.
He focuses on presenting complex topics in a clear and accessible manner for a broad readership.
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