Building payments rails for agentic commerce

Artificial intelligence agents are beginning to make their presence felt in online payments. At present, they typically discover options for purchase and present users with buy options. However, many are already looking towards a future where AI agents have wallets and the ability to pay for small items with stablecoins. This could also create the opportunity for machine-to-machine micropayments. Chad Harper, head of the Coinbase Institute, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the rails that will facilitate agentic payments, particularly x402, Coinbase’s payments protocol.