MoonPay Launches AI Agents for Crypto Transactions
MoonPay introduced a new infrastructure layer enabling autonomous AI agents to hold wallets and execute crypto transactions under user permissions.
Crypto payments company MoonPay is pushing deeper into artificial intelligence with the launch of MoonPay Agents, a new product designed to enable autonomous software systems to transact onchain using non-custodial wallets.
Announced on Feb. 24, the offering allows AI-driven agents to trade, swap, and transfer digital assets programmatically after a user completes identity verification and funds a wallet. The move signals a broader industry shift toward what developers increasingly call an “agent economy,” where software systems act financially rather than simply analyze or generate content.
A Bridge Between AI and Financial Infrastructure
MoonPay Agents is built on the firm’s developer-focused MoonPay CLI, functioning as a non-custodial software layer that embeds crypto capabilities directly into AI workflows. Once configured, agents can create wallets stored on a user’s device, fund them via bank transfers or crypto deposits, execute onchain trades, and convert funds back into fiat.
Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and founder of MoonPay, framed the product as a missing link between artificial intelligence and financial systems:
“AI agents can reason, but they cannot act economically without capital infrastructure. MoonPay is the bridge between AI and money. The fastest way to move money is crypto, and we’ve built the infrastructure to let agents do exactly that: non-custodial, permissionless, and ready to use in minutes.”
Founded in 2019, MoonPay provides fiat-to-crypto onramps and stablecoin infrastructure used by more than 500 enterprise customers and 30 million users globally. With the new launch, the company is extending those payment rails to AI-powered systems, aiming to support automated financial activity at scale.
How MoonPay Agents Work
The platform is designed to allow AI agents to operate within predefined user permissions. After completing know-your-customer (KYC) checks once, the human user grants authority for the agent to transact autonomously within those limits.
Key capabilities include:
- Non-custodial wallet generation stored on user devices
- Funding via bank transfers or crypto deposits
- Onchain trading, swaps, and transfers executed programmatically
- Support for recurring buys and cross-chain swaps
- Integration with x402, a machine-to-machine payments standard
MoonPay says the system is built to scale across thousands — and eventually millions — of agents, embedded through APIs, CLI tools, and infrastructure layers into multiple use cases.
These include:
- Trading and portfolio management agents
- Gaming and commerce agents
- Treasury and payments automation systems
- Machine-to-machine financial workflows
Through a single integration, developers can access on- and off-ramps, crypto trading, payments, and stablecoin infrastructure, effectively connecting traditional financial rails to blockchain networks.
The Rise of the “Agent Economy”
MoonPay’s announcement comes amid growing industry momentum around AI-driven financial automation.
Developers and startups are increasingly exploring systems where software agents execute economic decisions autonomously, rather than relying on human inputs for each transaction. This concept has gained traction across both crypto and traditional fintech ecosystems.
Recent developments highlight the trend:
- Coinbase introduced tools enabling AI agents to hold wallets and interact onchain.
- Stripe added support for the x402 standard to facilitate USDC-based machine payments.
- deBridge launched infrastructure for non-custodial cross-chain execution tailored to AI systems.
- Collaborations between OpenAI and Paradigm have focused on AI tools for smart contract security.
Ethereum developers have also embraced the idea of an “agentic” economy, exploring how decentralized infrastructure can support automated financial strategies on mainnet. Meanwhile, startups building AI-powered Web3 applications have begun attracting investment, reinforcing the convergence between blockchain and artificial intelligence.
MoonPay’s strategy suggests a belief that as agents begin allocating capital, executing trades, and managing treasury functions, they will require compliant payment infrastructure that integrates traditional banking with blockchain networks.
Stablecoins Strengthen the Foundation
The expansion into AI infrastructure also coincides with a broader transformation in digital payments, particularly around stablecoins.
A global study — Stablecoin Utility Report 2026 by BVNK in partnership with Coinbase and Artemis — found that dollar-pegged tokens are increasingly used for payments, savings, and cross-border income, not just trading.
Designed to maintain a 1:1 peg with fiat currencies, stablecoins such as USDT and USDC have become core components of crypto-based payment systems. While trading remains a major use case, the report indicates their role is rapidly expanding into everyday financial activity.
This trend aligns closely with MoonPay’s infrastructure ambitions, as stablecoins offer fast, programmable settlement that AI agents can use to move capital across borders and platforms without traditional banking friction.
Infrastructure for Autonomous Finance
MoonPay’s entry into the AI-agent space highlights how the next phase of crypto adoption may be defined less by individual users and more by automated systems operating on their behalf.
As AI evolves from analytical tools into active economic participants, the demand for secure, compliant, and scalable financial rails is expected to intensify. Crypto’s programmable nature — particularly when combined with stablecoins and cross-chain infrastructure — positions it as a natural backbone for this emerging machine-driven economy.
If autonomous agents begin managing investments, payments, and digital commerce at scale, infrastructure providers like MoonPay could become critical connectors between traditional finance, blockchain networks, and AI systems. The launch of MoonPay Agents suggests the company is betting that the future of digital finance will not only be decentralized — but increasingly automated.
