Coinbase rolls out AI agents that can trade crypto and buy research data

Coinbase is the latest financial platform to let artificial intelligence agents act on behalf of users. The company announced Thursday that its new AI agents can execute cryptocurrency trades, rebalance portfolios, and even pay for premium research data — all without human intervention.

Users can link the agent directly to their main Coinbase account or run it in a separate sandbox if they prefer to keep their wallet isolated. The agent taps into Coinbase Advanced, the company’s professional trading suite with tools like TradingView charts, to analyze markets and place orders. Customers can ask it to follow a specific investment strategy, handle a one-time trade, or provide advice on a crypto transaction.

Currently, the agent works with crypto spot markets and derivatives. Coinbase plans to add support for equities and prediction markets later. The company says it will soon let users set custom limits, such as maximum trade size or a spending cap, to keep the agent on a short leash.

A key piece of the setup is the x402 payment protocol, which Coinbase launched last year with AWS, Anthropic, Circle, and Near. Using that standard, the agent can buy access to premium research data APIs and on-demand computing power without requiring logins or subscriptions. A public directory lists the services the agent can tap into.

Coinbase has been building AI tools for years. It released AgentKit in 2024 for developers to integrate automated wallets, and last December added an AI assistant that offers trading tips. The new agents also work inside ChatGPT or Claude through Coinbase’s MCP server.

“We’re aiming to build a fundamentally different product for a future where most of the internet is accessed through agents,” said Lincoln Murr, Coinbase’s head of AI product.

The move comes as regulators pay closer attention. The Financial Stability Board recently warned that strong safeguards are needed to manage AI risks in finance.