AI Agents Spend a Tiny Fraction of the Money Moving Through Coinbase’s x402 Protocol

TRM Labs has published a new report revealing that almost all of the funds moving through Coinbase’s x402 protocol do not come from AI agents spending it themselves.

TRM studied around $52.7 million transactions across roughly 198.9 million settlements handled by recognized x402 facilitators on Base, Solana, and Polygon from May 2025. Once it filtered out self-payments and other unusual movements, it judged that a mere 0.6%–7.5% share of the rest of the commerce by value seemed to stem from AI agents.

The Screening Process

TRM worked with care, taking a step-by-step course of action. It eliminated payments made to oneself, large sums coming from just one or two payers, and sellers who had no more than 10 customers. Once those were gone, about $25.62 million in probable business remained.

Next, the firm searched for transactions where facilitators paid broadcasters in sums averaging below $1, with payments that varied from month to month. A tougher standard demanded both that repeating payment pattern and either public registration of the agent or payments to several sellers. TRM cautioned that such strict requirements might overlook legitimate agents who consistently purchased the same service.

The Pattern in Late 2025

Late 2025 saw activity linked to meme-token minting and payments to one AI-analysis service. In early 2026, volume concentrated in a single payment contract. AI-service payments returned through an agent-payment router around midyear.

How x402 Works

Coinbase launched x402 in 2025, which weaves payments directly into web requests. The buyer receives a price quote and authorizes the payment, while a facilitator verifies the authorization, submits the blockchain transaction, and covers the network fee.

A standard script can be run through that sequence without needing an AI agent at all. Scheduled jobs, load tests, and self-dealing can generate the same blockchain records too, so protocol totals don’t tell us enough about agent commerce on their own.

USDC Dominates Settlements

Over the entire stretch, USDC made up 99.6% of the total settled volume, which amounted to $52.47 million.

Companies Keep Investing

Companies have continued putting money into agent payments. Binance’s August Agent OS launch included an x402 payment layer. Coinbase’s Base targeted agent and payments startups through its $1 million accelerator.

In May, Amazon introduced AgentCore Payments, a service built with support from both Coinbase and Stripe, which lets agents settle for online services using stablecoins.

The Registration Problem

TRM found that beyond measuring how much people use something, there were also gaps in assigning responsibility for payments made to agents.

“On-chain agent registries let individuals declare ownership of an agent address,” TRM Labs wrote. “However, this declaration is voluntary and currently not utilized by the majority of participants.”

What TRM Wants

TRM requested improved registration accuracy, the ability to verify counterparties’ reputations, and surveillance systems appropriate for a high volume of low-value transactions.

“The rail already works,” they wrote. “What is needed is accurate registration, counterparty reputation an agent can check on its own, and monitoring built for volume rather than value.” “Agentic commerce will need agentic compliance.”

The Bottom Line

A fraction of the commerce on x402 comes from AI agents, a figure that sits at 0.6% to 7.5%.

Here is what stands out:

1. $52.7 million examined across 198.9 million settlements
2. $25.62 million in likely commerce after screening
3. 0.6%–7.5% of that appears to come from AI agents
4. USDC accounts for 99.6% of settled value

The railway system functions properly. The registration issue remains a genuine concern. The agents continue to represent a minor portion of the trade.

AI agents · Coinbase · crypto payments · TRM Labs · x402