Coinbase CEO says AI agents will spur crypto payments, but rejects AI pivot

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said crypto will be important to the AI economy, arguing it can help power AI agents and related payments as network activity grows, including on Coinbase’s Base ecosystem and with USDC. Separately, he disputed calls for crypto companies to “pivot to AI,” describing the idea as “zero sum, scarcity thinking,” and framing crypto as a general-purpose technology rather than something that should be replaced by AI work ^{[1] [2]}.

Industry coverage also points to AI as an emerging driver of on-chain usage, with one report citing Ripple’s claims that agentic transactions on the XRP Ledger have surpassed one million and could rise toward 10 million and eventually 100 million as AI infrastructure matures. The same broader theme is echoed in reporting on Base and USDC agent payments, where Armstrong connected AI demand to potential increases in crypto usage ^{[3] [4]}.

Across the coverage, Armstrong and other industry participants link AI-agent activity and payments to growing blockchain demand, while Armstrong argues crypto’s role should complement—rather than be replaced by—AI development ^{[1] [2]}.