Coinbase Institute paper: AI agents need machine-to-machine micro-payments, stablecoins are the best fit
MurrLincoln · x · 2026-10-07
A new Coinbase Institute paper, "Machine-to-machine payments in the AiFi era," examines how AI agents break the internet's human-centric business model of attention, ads, subscriptions and checkout: agents consume content without sending readers back to publishers. It argues existing payment rails struggle with high-velocity micro-transactions (sometimes fractions of a cent), that stablecoins on low-cost networks are currently the strongest fit, and that policy should aim for an open, interoperable payment layer with safeguards.
Related event: Coinbase Paper: Stablecoins Best Suited for AI Agent Micropayments(2 posts)→
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