- Armstrong argues AI systems can’t open bank accounts, creating a gap in payments for autonomous machine-to-machine activity.
- Stablecoins offer a practical solution, enabling traceable AI payments without traditional KYC-bound banking access.
- Tools like AgentKit and X402 aim to power “agentic commerce,” where software negotiates, pays, and transacts independently.
In remarks delivered at the Goldman Sachs Builders and Innovators Summit in October 2025, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong outlined a challenge he believes will shape the next phase of digital finance: artificial intelligence systems may soon need to make payments autonomously, but cannot open traditional bank accounts due to identity verification rules.
Armstrong argued that this gap positions stablecoins as the most practical instrument for machine-to-machine transactions, because current financial regulations require identity checks that AI cannot fulfill.
AI Payments Without Bank Accounts
According to Armstrong, current financial rails remain tied to know-your-customer requirements. While a human user can authorize a one-time purchase with a credit card, he stated that autonomous agents will need the ability to transact without continuous human intervention. Stablecoins, he said, provide an alternative mechanism that avoids the limits of conventional banking access while still operating within traceable digital ledgers.
Tools Enabling Machine Commerce
Armstrong referenced open-source initiatives such as AgentKit, designed to embed stablecoin wallets into AI systems, and X402, a protocol for attaching small crypto payments to routine web requests.
He described these developments as early infrastructure for what some in the industry call “agentic commerce,” where software negotiates, pays, and completes tasks on behalf of users. The business implications, in his view, extend beyond Coinbase, with the potential to reduce payment friction and alter how firms approach online checkout systems.
Regulatory Considerations and Broader Impact
Armstrong also acknowledged that regulatory clarity will determine how far these systems expand. He suggested that financial institutions, policymakers, and technology companies may need to evaluate new compliance models if autonomous payments scale. In his assessment, the shift is less about replacing banks and more about addressing use cases that fall outside their current scope.
Long-Term Outlook
The Coinbase executive concluded that meaningful innovation may depend on pursuing complex, long-horizon projects. In his view, the intersection of legislation, finance and artificial intelligence will be central to that work, even if progress remains incremental.
