Coinbase has introduced a new set of tools designed to let artificial intelligence agents make payments and trade crypto on behalf of users, deepening the exchange’s push into a rapidly expanding area of automation.
The offering, called Coinbase for Agents, allows AI models such as ChatGPT and Claude to connect with a user’s exchange account and carry out tasks including trade execution and strategy implementation. Coinbase said the service is available through both a model context protocol, which lets AI systems interact with user accounts, and a command-line interface aimed at developers.
The company is also extending the system to payments through its x402 protocol, which gives AI agents a way to pay for data services and other inputs needed to run trading strategies. Coinbase said the technology is intended to support the small, frequent transactions that AI agents are expected to handle as they become more widely used in financial workflows.
In addition, Coinbase introduced Coinbase Advisor, an AI agent embedded in its app that it says is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a financial adviser and can provide trading guidance while helping users manage crypto assets with less day-to-day involvement. The company said the tool can be used for tasks such as allocating funds to reward programs or setting up recurring purchases.
Coinbase described one possible use case as a dollar-cost averaging strategy into ether, where an agent could analyze recent hourly price data, identify periods of weaker pricing and schedule automated buys over a chosen time frame. The example highlights the company’s view that AI can move beyond simple assistance and into active portfolio management.
The launch comes as the broader industry accelerates efforts to connect AI systems with digital asset infrastructure. Circle recently introduced tools for AI wallets and programmable payments, while Crossmint unveiled a system allowing agents to make payments using eligible Visa cards. Keyrock said in a recent report that AI agents had already built a sizable ecosystem, settling tens of millions of dollars in activity across hundreds of millions of transactions over the past year.Asian equities advanced on Friday as investor sentiment improved on the back of lower oil prices and signs of easing geopolitical risk. The shift followed President Donald Trump’s suggestion that a peace agreement with Iran could be reached as soon as this weekend. The prospect of reduced tension in the Middle East helped calm markets after earlier concerns that US strikes could target Iranian energy infrastructure.
Optimism also increased ahead of SpaceX’s expected market debut, which is being framed as one of the most closely watched listings in recent memory. The company is reportedly aiming to raise about $75 billion at a valuation of $1.78 trillion, reinforcing confidence in the broader technology and artificial intelligence trade. That theme continued to support regional equities, with chipmakers and other growth-sensitive stocks leading gains.
Japan’s nikkei 225 rose 3.38% to around 66,400, while South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 8.29%, trading above 8,400 at the time of writing. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.03% to about 24,750, and China’s SSE Composite added 1.56% to near 4,050. The rally was broad-based across major Asian markets, with financial, technology, and consumer shares all contributing to the advance.
Japan’s market may still face an important policy test next week. The Bank of Japan is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, which would lift the policy rate to 1%, its highest level since 1995. Such a move would also mark the first rate increase since December. Attention has also turned to the central bank’s leadership, after Governor Kazuo Ueda was reported to miss the policy meeting because of illness.
South Korea was among the strongest performers, supported by a sharp rebound in semiconductor stocks. Samsung Electronics climbed 12.0% and SK Hynix rose 8.5% as investors returned to AI-related chip names after a strong recovery in US technology shares. In Hong Kong, gains in large financial and retail names outweighed weakness in the communications sector.
