U.S.-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) has released the latest version of its stablecoin-based payments protocol for artificial intelligence agents, making it easier to scale and plug into autonomous payment systems, the exchange said in a blog post on Thursday.
The smart payments tool, called x402 V2, shifts the AI agent payments tool from asking “what does it actually do” to “what existing services can we plug it into next,” a Coinbase representative said in an email. Specifically, Coinbase said x402 V2 allows developers to combine payments, enable secure wallet access, and add new features through a clean, modular design.
Earlier this year, Coinbase engineers released x402, the open source autonomous payments protocol, and more recently added a discovery layer for artificial intelligence agents, akin to a “Google for agents,” called x402 Bazaar.
In notes accompanying the blog post, Coinbase said x402 V2 extends the protocol beyond single-call, precise payments. “It adds wallet-based identity (skips payback on every call), automatic API discovery, dynamic payment recipients, support for more chains and fiat currencies via CAIP [Chain Agnostic Improvement Proposals for blockchain interoperability] standards, as well as a fully modular SDK for custom networks and scenarios,” Coinbase said.
The exchange says this is all about making x402 “cleaner, more scalable, and future-proof, providing unified payment models and wallet-based access for agents and humans alike.”