Base unveils innovative solution for integrating AI agents with cryptocurrency wallets
A newly introduced tool from Base enables AI models to execute fund transfers, conduct token swaps, monitor account balances, and examine past transactions.
The Ethereum layer-2 blockchain platform Base, developed by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has introduced a groundbreaking tool designed to link Base accounts with artificial intelligence agents for executing blockchain transactions.
On Tuesday, Base announced the launch of its new Base MCP (Model Context Protocol), which enables users to instruct AI agents like Anthropic's Claude or OpenAI's ChatGPT to execute various operations including transferring funds, swapping tokens, checking balances, reviewing transaction history, and utilizing compatible applications within the ecosystem.
The innovative tool provides users with the capability to oversee their cryptocurrency holdings directly through an AI model's conversational interface and also supports interactions with various crypto protocols including Morpho, Moonwell, Uniswap, Aerodrome, Avantis, Bankr and Virtuals, according to Base.
When the AI agent suggests an action through the chat interface, the Base wallet launches in a separate window, allowing users to either approve or reject the transaction. Importantly, the agent does not gain access to private keys, and users must confirm every single action.
Industry supporters have promoted agentic payments as the next significant application for cryptocurrency, with proponents claiming that AI models will face challenges when trying to access traditional banking systems and will therefore need to rely on digital assets for transactions.
According to Base, each transaction suggested by the agent undergoes the identical review process that users encounter for any Base account request, with simulated asset changes displayed before user confirmation.
In a statement to Fortune, Lincoln Murr, head of AI Product for Coinbase, explained that "unlike siloed agentic wallets that only live in a terminal, your Base Account travels with you — trades, history, and portfolio sync whether you're in-agent or in the Base App."
The Base MCP will additionally promote broader adoption of the Coinbase x402 protocol, which is an agentic AI payment standard that the company introduced in May 2025.
Murr characterized MCP as a "nice wrapper" on top of APIs. When combined with x402, it facilitates a new micro-transaction economy where agents can execute small payments in crypto.
That said, this economy remains in its nascent stages, with x402 handling only $1.1 million in volume throughout the past 30 days, based on data from x402scan.
The deployment of AI agents for cryptocurrency payments has attracted criticism, with a recently published research paper from Google and prominent universities recommending that AI agents be regarded as an untrusted system component.
The researchers emphasized that AI agents should maintain clear separation between instructions and untrusted data to prevent attackers from deceiving the agent through hidden malicious instructions.
At the beginning of this week, the developer platform Socket uncovered malware that targets crypto developers by inserting hidden instructions designed to hijack AI coding assistants.