Blockchain infrastructure company Alchemy has launched a system that allows autonomous AI agents to purchase computing credits and access blockchain data services using onchain wallets and USDC in Base.
According to the company’s announcement, the initial release will allow AI agents to query blockchain networks directly, verify ownership of passive tokens (NFT), view wallet balances on multiple chains, and access live data on token prices, with additional networks and services planned.
If an agent runs out of prepaid account credits, Alchemy issues a payment request that can be automatically settled in USDC in Base, allowing the agent to continue operating without human intervention.
The company said agents can fund accounts with as little as $1 in USDC and, once credited, continue making API calls until their balance is depleted and another automatic payment is requested.
The system uses Coinbase’s x402 payment standard to convert the “402 Payment Required” HTTP response into an automatic billing trigger. X402 is an open standard that allows web services to request onchain payments directly via HTTP request responses, enabling machine-to-machine transactions without manual calculations.
Nikhil Viswanathan, CEO of Alchemy, told Cointelegraph that the system is aimed at developers to build autonomous decentralized finance (DeFi) agents, portfolio management bots and other multi-step onchain workflows.
He said that several major crypto applications, including Robinhood Crypto, Uniswap, OpenSea, Aave and 0x, already rely on Alchemy for power transmission, adding:
AI agents can now access the same infrastructure independently without a human ever touching it. This is the moment when the agency economy gets its set of keys.
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Crypto companies and developers are accelerating agent adoption
AI agents, software systems that can make decisions and perform tasks autonomously based on predefined goals and real-time data, have attracted increasing attention in the past year. Nearly a quarter (23%) of organizations surveyed by McKinsey in November said they are expanding their use of agent-based systems.
On February 6, the AI.com platform, founded by Crypto.com CEO Chris Marszalek, said it plans to launch an autonomous AI agent for retail users capable of performing stock trades, automating business processes and handling routine digital tasks.
A few days later, Coinbase introduced a crypto-wallet infrastructure that allows AI agents to spend, acquire and trade digital assets independently, including performing on-chain transactions such as managing DeFi positions, balancing portfolios and paying for services.
Meanwhile, the Monad developer community announced the results of their Moltiverse Hackathon this week, naming 16 winners across a range of “agent + token” projects.
Winners include a programmable venture capital agent that automatically evaluates and invests, artificial multiplayer battlefields, an AI dating network where agents “represent their humans,” and trading card games controlled by software rather than human players.
Magazine: Crypto Clawdbot/Moltbot, likes Uber ratings for AI agents: AI Eye
