Blockchain infrastructure provider Alchemy has rolled out a system enabling autonomous AI agents to purchase compute credits and access its blockchain data services using onchain wallets and USDC on Base. The initial launch lets agents query blockchains directly, verify NFT ownership, check wallet balances across chains and retrieve live token prices, with more networks and services planned.
When an agent uses up prepaid compute credits, Alchemy issues a payment request that the agent can automatically settle in USDC on Base so it can keep operating without human intervention. Accounts can be funded with as little as $1 in USDC; once credited, the agent continues making API calls until the balance is exhausted and another automated payment is triggered.
The system leverages Coinbase’s x402 payment standard, which turns an HTTP “402 Payment Required” response into an onchain billing trigger. The open x402 standard lets web services request onchain payments through HTTP responses, enabling machine-to-machine transactions without manual invoices.
Alchemy CEO Nikil Viswanathan said the offering targets 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 depend on Alchemy’s infrastructure, adding that agents can now access that same infrastructure autonomously and that “the agentic economy gets its own set of keys.”
AI agents, which make decisions and execute tasks autonomously based on goals and real-time data, have gained momentum over the past year. A November McKinsey survey found 23% of organizations were expanding their use of agent-based systems. Recent industry moves include AI.com announcing plans for an autonomous retail AI agent capable of executing trades and automating workflows, and Coinbase introducing “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 projects. Monad’s Moltiverse Hackathon named 16 winners across “agent + token” use cases, including a programmable venture-capital agent that evaluates and invests automatically, AI-driven multiplayer battle arenas, an AI dating network where agents act on users’ behalf, and trading-card games governed by software agents rather than human players.
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