Alchemy has introduced a payments system that lets autonomous AI agents buy compute credits and access Alchemy’s blockchain data services using onchain wallets and USDC on Base. The initial rollout allows agents to query blockchains directly, verify NFT ownership, check wallet balances across chains and pull live token prices, with additional networks and services planned.
When an agent exhausts its prepaid compute credits, Alchemy issues a payment request that the agent can automatically settle in USDC on Base, allowing uninterrupted operation without human intervention. Accounts can be topped up with as little as $1 in USDC; once funded, the agent continues making API calls until the balance is depleted and a new automated payment is triggered.
The system uses Coinbase’s open x402 payment standard, which converts an HTTP “402 Payment Required” response into an onchain billing trigger. x402 enables web services to request onchain payments via standard HTTP responses, facilitating machine-to-machine transactions without manual invoicing.
Alchemy CEO Nikil Viswanathan said the feature is aimed at developers building autonomous DeFi agents, portfolio-management bots and other multi-step onchain workflows. He noted that major crypto platforms, including Robinhood Crypto, Uniswap, OpenSea, Aave and 0x, already rely on Alchemy’s infrastructure, and that agents can now access that same infrastructure autonomously — in his words, “the agentic economy gets its own set of keys.”
Interest in autonomous AI agents has grown rapidly. A November McKinsey survey found 23% of organizations were expanding their use of agent-based systems. Industry activity includes AI.com’s plans for a retail AI agent that can execute trades and automate workflows, and Coinbase’s introduction of “Agentic Wallets” to let AI agents autonomously spend, earn and trade digital assets, manage DeFi positions, rebalance portfolios and pay for services.
Developer communities are also experimenting with agent-driven applications. At Monad’s Moltiverse Hackathon, 16 winners were named in “agent + token” categories, including a programmable venture-capital agent that evaluates and invests automatically, AI-driven multiplayer battle arenas, an AI dating network that acts on users’ behalf, and trading-card games governed by software agents rather than human players.
This report is intended to provide accurate, timely information. Cointelegraph maintains an independent editorial policy and encourages readers to verify facts independently. For more on the publication’s standards, see Cointelegraph’s editorial policy.
