Coinbase Devs Predict AI Agents Will Soon Control 80% of Ethereum Transactions—Stablecoins Fuel the Takeover

Bots are coming for your gas fees—and they’re paying in USDC.

Coinbase’s engineering team dropped a bombshell this week: AI agents could dominate Ethereum’s transaction flow within 18 months. The kicker? They’ll almost exclusively use stablecoins like DAI and USDT for machine-to-machine payments.

Why this matters:

- No more human-speed decision making: AI wallets execute trades in milliseconds when arbitrage opportunities appear - Stablecoins become the oil in the machine economy: predictable value beats volatile ETH for automated systems - Ethereum’s roadmap just got more urgent: can the network handle 10M+ daily AI-driven microtransactions?

The report suggests we’ll see AI ‘super users’ deploying complex DeFi strategies no human could manually replicate. Think: flash loans on steroids, with bots front-running other bots in an endless loop of optimized greed.

One cynical footnote? The same institutions complaining about crypto volatility are quietly building the AI systems that’ll demand stablecoin liquidity 24/7. Guess those ‘risk management’ departments found their perfect asset after all.

TLDR

• AI agents on Ethereum could transform e-commerce by making autonomous stablecoin payments.

• HTTP 402 and EIP 3009 allow AI agents to process payments without human intervention.

• Ethereum’s trustless settlement system is crucial for AI agents to operate efficiently.

• Coinbase has already implemented HTTP 402, enabling AI-powered tools to perform transactions.

Ethereum’s role in the future of blockchain could be transformed by AI agents, according to Coinbase developers Kevin Leffew and Lincoln Murr. These autonomous agents can carry out transactions and access funds on ethereum without human intervention. The developers explain that the integration of a dormant HTTP web standard, HTTP 402, combined with Ethereum Improvement Proposal 3009, will allow these AI agents to autonomously make payments, including stablecoin transfers.

The announcement is significant because it suggests that Ethereum, known for its decentralized nature, will play a critical role in enabling a new FORM of commerce driven by AI. The shift is transformative, as it reduces the need for human oversight in financial transactions, which could lead to greater efficiencies in industries such as e-commerce and beyond.

Role of HTTP 402 in Autonomous Payments

HTTP 402, a web standard defined 30 years ago but rarely used, is being resurrected on the Ethereum blockchain to facilitate payments made by AI agents. By combining HTTP 402 with Ethereum’s smart contracts, AI agents can sign transactions and make payments to obtain services without human involvement.

Leffew and Murr describe the process as similar to using a vending machine: the AI agent receives a payment request, signs the transaction, and completes the payment to receive a service in return.

This autonomous payment method could revolutionize industries where services are on-demand, such as self-driving cars, content generation, or even apps automatically paying for storage.

How AI Agents Could Drive Ethereum’s Growth

The potential of AI agents driving Ethereum’s usage is immense, according to Coinbase’s developers. These agents can automate the payment process, including tasks like purchasing API access or paying for storage.

For example, a self-driving taxi could autonomously pay for its own charges, while AI models could generate content and make payments for the required data.

1/ Ethereum has wallets.
Language models have tool calling.
What happens when tool-calling models get wallets?

You get autonomous agents, digital entities that can reason, transact, and operate on our behalf. And they’re already here.

— Ethereum (@ethereum) August 13, 2025

As these agents begin using Ethereum to handle payments, they could become the largest users of the network, driving up demand for the Ethereum platform. This increase in demand WOULD be supported by Ethereum’s trustless settlement system, making it an ideal environment for these AI-driven operations to function securely and efficiently.

Shift Toward AI-Powered E-commerce

As AI agents begin making autonomous payments, the broader e-commerce landscape is expected to change. The ability for AI agents to pay for services in real time could enable new business models and economic loops.

Leffew and Murr point to real-world examples where AI agents are already interacting with APIs to carry out tasks like generating images, videos, or optimizing data.

This development marks a significant shift in how the internet could operate. Instead of traditional human-driven transactions, services could become self-sustaining through AI agents operating within a decentralized system. Ethereum’s composable wallets and programmable policies are key to making this vision a reality.

Ethereum’s appeal to AI agents lies in its ability to provide trustless settlements, eliminating delays associated with traditional invoicing and dispute resolution. With its blockchain infrastructure, Ethereum can guarantee that payments are executed quickly and reliably. The combination of Ethereum’s decentralized features and stablecoins will allow AI agents to operate efficiently within various industries.