Coinbase is not introducing AI agents to crypto. Those have been here for years.

 

What Coinbase is doing now is different. It is trying to formalize and secure that reality.

 

With the release of what it calls Agentic Wallets, Coinbase is offering wallet infrastructure built specifically for autonomous AI agents. Not dashboards with AI features. Not analytics copilots. Actual wallets engineered so software agents can hold and move funds in a way that is safer, cleaner, and more production ready than the duct taped setups many teams rely on today.

 

 

Agentic Infrastructure

Erik Reppel, who leads engineering on the Coinbase Developer Platform, has been fairly direct about the problem they are solving.

 

Today, when developers say an agent “has a wallet,” that often means a private key is sitting somewhere it probably should not be. Maybe in a config file. Maybe in memory. Maybe loosely protected. If that agent gets manipulated, exploited, or simply misbehaves, the blast radius can be severe.

 

Reppel’s argument is that key isolation needs to be non negotiable. With Agentic Wallets, private keys are stored in secure execution environments, separated from the agent’s reasoning layer. The agent never directly touches raw key material. Instead, it interacts through controlled sessions with predefined permissions and limits.

 

He has described this architecture as orders of magnitude safer than letting an AI system operate with exposed keys.

 

That framing is important. Coinbase is not claiming to invent autonomous agents. It is trying to make them viable in production environments where security and compliance actually matter.

 

 

Built on Base and Wired Through x402

Two technical components sit at the core of this release: Base and x402.

 

Agentic Wallets are designed to run natively on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer 2 network. Base offers lower fees and faster settlement compared to mainnet Ethereum, which makes it more practical for continuous automated activity. Bots and agents do not sleep. They monitor, adjust, and transact around the clock. Running that on a cheaper, faster chain is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

 

Then there is x402, Coinbase’s machine-to-machine payments protocol.

 

If that name sounds obscure, the idea is straightforward. x402 is built to allow services to pay other services directly onchain. It has already processed tens of millions of transactions in scenarios where APIs, compute layers, or other digital services require automated payment.

 

In the context of Agentic Wallets, x402 becomes the settlement layer for autonomous systems. An agent can pay for API access, purchase data feeds, cover inference costs, or settle fees with other services without a human approving every transaction. It is programmable, onchain, and designed for machines transacting with machines.

 

Put differently, Base provides the execution environment. x402 provides the payment rails. Agentic Wallets sit on top as the secure container that ties everything together.

 

 

Agents Already Trade. This Makes It Cleaner.

It is worth saying clearly: AI driven trading is not new.

 

Quant desks, DeFi vaults, MEV bots, and arbitrage engines have been programmatically making trades for years. In many cases those systems are highly sophisticated. But the wallet layer underneath them has often been an afterthought. Keys get managed in inconsistent ways. Access control is custom built. Security depends heavily on the engineering discipline of each individual team.

 

What Coinbase is offering is a standardized wallet layer designed for autonomous operation from day one.

 

With Agentic Wallets, developers can:

• - Set configurable spend caps per transaction or per session
• - Limit what contracts or addresses an agent can interact with
• - Isolate keys from the model or decision engine
• - Monitor transactions through built in compliance tooling

 

That does not suddenly give agents new superpowers. They were already capable of executing trades, reallocating liquidity, and managing positions. What this does is reduce the fragility in how those systems are wired into capital.

 

For teams building serious onchain automation, that difference matters.

 

 

Guardrails Are the Product

The safety architecture is arguably the most important part of this launch.

 

Prompt injection attacks, model manipulation, and logic exploits are not theoretical. If an agent is given broad financial authority and can be tricked into executing malicious instructions, the damage can be immediate and irreversible.

 

Coinbase’s model is to narrow the surface area.

 

Private keys live in secure enclaves. Agents operate through session credentials rather than raw key access. Developers can define how much value an agent can move and under what conditions. Transaction monitoring tools screen for high risk interactions before they are finalized.

 

None of this eliminates risk. Autonomous systems interacting with open financial networks will always carry some degree of unpredictability. But compared to the common practice of handing a bot a hot wallet and hoping for the best, this is a structural upgrade.

 

 

The Bottom Line

Zooming out, this fits into Coinbase’s broader strategy.

 

The company has been expanding its developer platform, pushing Base as a default settlement layer, and experimenting with tools that make onchain activity easier to embed into applications. Agentic Wallets extend that logic into the AI domain.

 

If AI systems continue to mediate financial activity, whether that is portfolio management, payments, or automated strategy execution, they will need infrastructure. Wallets are the choke point. Whoever controls that layer controls a meaningful slice of the stack.

 

Coinbase clearly wants to be that provider.

 

There are still regulatory and philosophical questions hanging over all of this. When an autonomous agent executes a trade or interacts with a protocol, who ultimately bears responsibility? The developer? The operator? The infrastructure provider? Those debates are just beginning.

 

But in practical terms, agents are already here. They are already trading. They are already moving markets.

 

Autonomous systems are currently participating in crypto. The wallet layer just needs to catch up.

 

Agentic Wallets are an attempt to do exactly that.

 

 

Metamask, the popular self-custody wallet announced it now supports tokenized U.S. stocks, ETFs, and commodities through an integration with Ondo Global Markets. For eligible users outside the United States, this means exposure to names like Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, major index ETFs, and even gold and silver, all from inside the MetaMask wallet.

 

It is one of the clearest signals yet that tokenized real-world assets are moving from theory into everyday crypto products.

 

 

What’s Actually Being Offered

The new offering includes more than 200 tokenized securities at launch. These tokens track the price of publicly traded U.S. stocks, ETFs, and commodity funds. Users can buy them with stablecoins, hold them in their wallet, and transfer them onchain just like any other ERC-20 token.

 

These are not shares in the legal sense. Holding a tokenized stock does not give voting rights or direct ownership of the underlying equity. Instead, the tokens provide economic exposure to the price movements of the asset, backed by traditional market infrastructure on the other side.

 

For many crypto users, that distinction may matter less than the experience itself. The ability to gain U.S. market exposure without opening a brokerage account or leaving a self-custodial wallet is the real draw.

 

 

How It Works Inside MetaMask

The integration runs through MetaMask Swaps, meaning users do not need to leave the wallet or interact with unfamiliar interfaces. Trades are executed onchain, while pricing and asset backing are handled through Ondo’s infrastructure.

 

Minting and redemption of the tokens generally follow U.S. market hours, reflecting how the underlying assets trade in traditional markets. Transfers between wallets, however, can happen at any time. That hybrid setup blends old market rules with blockchain flexibility, even if it is not fully 24/7 trading yet.

 

Fractional exposure is also built in, allowing users to buy small amounts of high-priced stocks or ETFs without committing large sums of capital.

 

 

Who Can Use It

Access is limited to eligible users in supported jurisdictions outside the U.S. and several other regions. Regulatory restrictions around securities remain a major factor, and MetaMask has been clear that availability depends on local rules.

 

For now, the product is primarily aimed at international users who want U.S. market exposure without navigating the friction of legacy brokerage systems.

 

 

The Bigger Industry Context

This move highlights how quickly real-world assets are becoming part of the crypto stack.

 

For years, tokenized stocks were discussed as a future use case. Today, they are appearing inside one of the most widely used wallets in the industry. That changes the conversation. Instead of asking whether tokenization will happen, the focus shifts to how fast it scales and how regulators respond.

 

It also reframes MetaMask’s role. The wallet is no longer just a gateway to DeFi and NFTs. It is starting to look more like a universal financial interface, one that sits between crypto markets and traditional assets.

 

For users, the appeal is simplicity. One wallet, one interface, exposure to crypto, equities, ETFs, and commodities. No bank logins, no brokerage apps, no asset silos.

 

MetaMask’s integration with Ondo fits into a broader push across the industry. Tokenization is being explored by crypto-native firms, fintech platforms, and even large financial institutions. The idea is straightforward. Traditional markets are slow, fragmented, and geographically constrained. Blockchains promise faster settlement, global access, and programmable assets.

 

Tokenized real-world assets already represent tens of billions of dollars in value, and many expect that number to grow sharply if regulatory clarity improves.

 

Still, challenges remain. Regulatory uncertainty is the biggest one. Liquidity and pricing ultimately depend on traditional markets. And for some investors, the lack of shareholder rights will always be a drawback.

 

 

The Bottom Line

Ondo has said it plans to expand its catalog to thousands of assets over time. If that happens, wallets like MetaMask could become primary access points for global capital markets, especially in regions underserved by traditional finance.

 

For now, the launch marks a clear trend. Crypto wallets are no longer just about holding crypto. They are becoming portals into the broader financial system, one token at a time.

Rumble Pushes Deeper Into Crypto With a Native Wallet for Creator Tips

 

Rumble has been talking for years about building an alternative to YouTube. With the launch of its new crypto wallet, it is now making a serious attempt to rethink how creators actually get paid.

The company has rolled out Rumble Wallet, a built-in, non-custodial wallet that lets viewers tip creators directly in Bitcoin, USDT, and Tether Gold. The wallet is integrated into the Rumble platform itself, meaning users do not have to leave the site or rely on third-party payment tools to support creators.

On paper, it looks like a tipping feature. In reality, it is closer to a payments strategy.

 

What Rumble actually launched

Rumble Wallet allows users to hold crypto and send it directly to creators inside the platform. The wallet is non-custodial, which means users control their own funds rather than handing custody to Rumble.

At launch, the wallet supports three assets. Bitcoin provides the recognizable flagship. USDT offers price stability for users and creators who do not want volatility. Tether Gold adds a more niche option, but one that fits Rumble’s broader narrative around alternatives to traditional finance.

MoonPay is handling the fiat on and off ramps, which matters more than it might sound. Without that bridge, crypto tipping stays limited to users who already hold tokens. With it, Rumble can realistically target a much wider audience.

Many platforms have tried tipping. Few have tried wallets.

A tipping button is a feature layered on top of an existing system. A wallet becomes part of the system itself. Once users hold value inside the platform, the possibilities expand quickly.

A native wallet opens the door to subscriptions, paywalled content, creator payouts, merch payments, and cross-border transfers that do not depend on banks or card networks. It also shifts leverage. Instead of creators relying on ad revenue or platform-controlled payouts, they can receive funds directly from their audience.

Rumble appears to be aiming for exactly that. Control the wallet, and you control the flow of value across the platform.

 

Tether is central to the move

Tether’s role here goes well beyond providing a stablecoin.

The wallet is built using Tether’s wallet infrastructure tooling, positioning Rumble as an early, high-profile example of how Tether wants its technology used. This fits neatly with Tether’s broader strategy of moving downstream, not just issuing tokens but embedding them directly into consumer products.

There is also a financial alignment. Tether has already invested heavily in Rumble, and this wallet turns that relationship into something tangible. Rumble gets infrastructure and liquidity. Tether gets distribution inside a large, consumer-facing platform.

From Tether’s perspective, a wallet embedded into a video platform is far more powerful than another exchange listing.

 

Why creators might actually care

Creators have spent years complaining about monetization. Ad revenue is unpredictable. Platform rules change. Payouts can be delayed, reversed, or cut off entirely.

Crypto does not magically solve those problems, but it offers a different model. Direct payments. Faster settlement. Global reach. Fewer intermediaries.

Stablecoins like USDT are especially practical here. They reduce volatility while keeping payments digital and borderless. For international creators or audiences outside major banking systems, that matters.

If Rumble can make tipping and payments feel normal, not like a crypto experiment, it gives creators a reason to treat the platform as more than a backup distribution channel.

 

What's next?

Adoption will matter more than announcements. If tipping remains niche, the wallet is a branding move. If it becomes common behavior, it changes how Rumble makes money.

The first signal will be usage. Are creators actually receiving tips at scale, or is this limited to a small crypto-native subset?

The second is expansion. A wallet built only for tips leaves value on the table. Subscriptions, gated content, and commerce feel like natural next steps.

The third is competition. If Rumble proves crypto payments can work at scale inside a video platform, larger players will take notice.

 

The bigger picture

Rumble Wallet is not just a crypto feature. It is an attempt to rebuild creator monetization around direct payments rather than ads and intermediaries.

If it works, it offers a glimpse of how social platforms could operate when payments are native, programmable, and global by default. If it fails, it will still serve as one of the clearest real-world tests of crypto’s promise in the creator economy so far.

 

Either way, it shows that the next phase of crypto adoption may not come from trading apps, but from where people already spend their time online.