Coinbase launches an AI agent that can execute trades and pay for premium research; users can give it access to their main account or have it operate separately

Coinbase just launched an AI agent capable of executing cryptocurrency trades and paying for premium research — all without human intervention. Users can either hand it the keys to their main account or let it operate in a sandboxed environment.

The move comes as AI agent traffic reportedly surpasses human traffic on the internet. That stat alone explains why finance and commerce companies are scrambling to build agent-friendly infrastructure.

Coinbase is essentially betting that the next wave of trading volume won't come from humans tapping screens — it'll come from autonomous agents making decisions at machine speed. The dual-access model is smart: power users go all-in, cautious users keep the agent on a leash.

It's a significant step toward AI-native financial services, where bots don't just advise — they act.