Coinbase’s Base gives AI agents new crypto wallet powers

Base has launched Base MCP, a new tool that connects Base Accounts to AI agents and lets users manage crypto actions through chat.

The Coinbase-backed Ethereum layer-2 network said the tool can support transfers, token swaps, balance checks, transaction reviews, and x402 payments.

The launch comes as Coinbase expands its role in AI-driven crypto payments. The news angle is clear: Base is trying to make crypto wallets easier to use through AI agents, while keeping user approval at the center of each transaction.

Base MCP brings wallets into AI chat

Base MCP works with AI clients that support Model Context Protocol, including ChatGPT, Claude, Codex, and Cursor. Once connected, users can ask an AI agent to track portfolios, send funds, swap tokens, check transaction history, and use supported Base apps from the same chat flow.

The system does not give the AI agent direct control over private keys. When an agent proposes a transaction, Base Account opens a separate review window where the user can confirm or reject the action. Base said every transaction shows expected asset changes before approval.

Base adds DeFi apps to AI agent access

At launch, Base MCP includes skill plugins for Moonwell, Morpho, Uniswap, Avantis, Bankr, Aerodrome, and Virtuals. These integrations allow AI agents to help users explore lending markets, manage liquidity, execute swaps, review token launches, and interact with on-chain perps markets.

Base said developers can also build custom plugins that return unsigned transaction details to Base MCP. The user still signs through Base Account, which keeps final approval outside the AI agent’s hands. That setup may help limit some wallet risks, but it still depends on clear prompts, safe plugins, and careful user review.

x402 links Base MCP to AI payments

Base MCP also supports x402 payments, which are designed for small payments by AI agents and web services. According to Base documentation, AI assistants can pay x402-enabled APIs with $USDC on Base or Base Sepolia.

Coinbase has been building this stack through x402 and Agentic.market. As previously reported by crypto.news, Agentic.market lets autonomous agents find and buy services using $USDC, while earlier x402 activity had reached about 165 million settled transactions across more than 480,000 agents at launch.

Moreover, AWS added Coinbase x402 to Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Payments, letting AI agents pay for services in $USDC. Stripe’s x402 support on Base and AllUnity’s agentic payment layer using Coinbase’s x402 standard.

Security concerns remain part of the rollout

Base says “nothing happens onchain without your explicit approval,” and says its MCP server never holds or accesses user private keys.

Still, AI-agent security remains under scrutiny. A recent report citing researchers from Google, Meta, Gray Swan AI, EmbraceTheRed, and universities said AI agents should be treated as untrusted system components and should separate trusted instructions from untrusted data.

The warning followed another security case in which Socket reported a malware campaign targeting crypto and AI developers through malicious software packages. That report said attackers were trying to steal wallet data, SSH keys, cloud credentials, and API keys.