Coinbase and Solana Make Consecutive Moves, Agent Economy Set to Become the Next Big Narrative

marsbitPublished on 2026-02-13Last updated on 2026-02-13

Abstract

On February 11, 2026, Coinbase announced the launch of Agentic Wallets, a wallet specifically designed for AI agents to independently hold and manage funds. Unlike the earlier AgentKit, which required developers to embed wallet functionality, Agentic Wallets offer a plug-and-play solution, allowing users to equip any AI agent with a wallet in under two minutes. These wallets enable agents to perform tasks like authentication, sending/receiving funds, payments, trading, and yield farming, all with programmable spending limits and security features to prevent fund depletion. Transactions occur on the Base chain with no gas fees for agents. Coinbase's goal is to foster an agent economy on Base, transforming AI agents from "brains without hands" into autonomous entities capable of executing financial actions. Potential applications include autonomous DeFi management, agent-driven commerce, content tokenization, and multi-chain operations. Shortly after Coinbase's announcement, Solana responded with a similar solution, lobster.cash, signaling the start of a new competitive landscape in on-chain agent economies. This development is poised to become a major narrative in the crypto space.

February 11, 2026, Coinbase announced the launch of Agentic Wallets, a wallet specifically designed for AI Agents.

What are Agentic Wallets?

Agentic Wallets aim to empower AI Agents with a fundamental capability required for their next evolution—independently holding and managing funds.

As early as November 2024, Coinbase had launched AgentKit, but there is an essential difference between AgentKit and Agentic Wallets. AgentKit was used to "embed" a wallet into an agent, requiring developers to perform custom integration. In contrast, Agentic Wallets are about "quickly equipping any agent with a wallet," making them more plug-and-play.

Simply put, the previous AgentKit was a toolkit provided to AI Agent developers, enabling the agents they created to have built-in wallet functionality. But now, in an era where everyone can quickly launch their own AI Agent, anyone can install a wallet for their agent by executing a few simple commands, just like adding a Skill to their agent. According to Coinbase, "it takes less than 2 minutes to set up."

Complex on-chain operations are abstracted by Coinbase into Skills that agents can install and execute with simple commands. Agentic Wallets enable agents to perform identity verification, send/receive funds, make payments, trade, earn yields (Yield Farming or LP), and more.

To prevent the excessive autonomy of AI Agents from rapidly depleting funds due to certain reasons, Agentic Wallets also provide programmable spending limits, including the maximum amount an agent can spend per session, the maximum limit per transaction, private key isolation protection, and screening to block high-risk transactions.

The supported assets are based on the Base chain. To ensure that agents active on Base are not interrupted due to insufficient gas fees, actions performed by agents on Base do not require gas fees.

Why is Coinbase doing this?

Coinbase's ambition is clear—to make the Agent economy happen on Base.

The longstanding dilemma for AI Agents has been that they can help analyze markets, provide investment decision suggestions, discover arbitrage opportunities, and more, but they lack identity, accounts, and wallets. Therefore, they can only offer suggestions to humans and cannot execute operations autonomously, like "a brain without hands."

Once agents can hold and manage funds, entirely new financial applications and even ecosystems will emerge. Coinbase has outlined several aspects of the new applications that may emerge on-chain:

- Autonomous DeFi for Agents: Enabling agents to monitor cross-protocol liquidity mining situations, autonomously manage liquidity positions around the clock, and conduct autonomous trading on Base, all based on pre-set permissions and risk control strategies by humans. Humans can sleep soundly, leaving the tedious tasks to agents.

- Agent Commerce: Agents use the x402 protocol to autonomously purchase computing resources, access advanced data streams, and pay related fees, creating a truly self-sustaining agent economy.

- Agent Business: Enabling agents to participate in the creator economy, make payments to other agents or users, and even tokenize the content they generate.

- Multi-chain Agent Operations: Although an agent's wallet is on Base, they can autonomously manage positions across multiple chains and execute strategies.

By lowering the barrier for ordinary users to install wallets for their agents, combined with the steadily developing payment protocol x402 and the added benefit of no gas fees for agents, Coinbase's ambitious layout is初步 taking shape. Although it's hard to predict what stunning innovations the Agent economy will bring in the future, for degens, this is undoubtedly the next big narrative that needs attention starting now.

Shortly after Coinbase announced the launch of Agentic Wallets, Solana immediately followed up by retweeting lobster.cash, an AI Agent autonomous payment solution on the Solana chain launched by Crossmint. Its core function is largely similar to Agentic Wallets—enabling agents to have autonomous wallets and independently manage and operate assets.

The new war surrounding the on-chain economy of Agents has already begun.

Related Questions

QWhat is the main purpose of Coinbase's newly announced Agentic Wallets?

AAgentic Wallets are designed to provide AI Agents with the ability to independently hold and manage funds, enabling them to perform financial operations such as sending/receiving funds, trading, and yield farming without human intervention.

QHow does Agentic Wallets differ from Coinbase's earlier product, AgentKit?

AAgentKit required developers to embed wallet functionality into AI Agents through custom integration, while Agentic Wallets offer a plug-and-play solution that allows users to quickly equip any AI Agent with a wallet in minutes.

QWhat security features does Agentic Wallets provide to prevent excessive spending by AI Agents?

AIt includes programmable spending limits, such as maximum expenditure per session, per transaction caps, private key isolation, and screening to block high-risk transactions.

QWhy is Coinbase promoting Agentic Wallets on the Base chain?

ACoinbase aims to make the Base chain the hub for the Agent economy by offering features like gas-free transactions for Agents on Base, thereby encouraging the development of new financial applications and ecosystems.

QHow did Solana respond to Coinbase's announcement of Agentic Wallets?

ASolana quickly followed up by promoting lobster.cash, an AI Agent autonomous payment solution on Solana developed by Crossmint, which serves a similar purpose of enabling Agents to manage and operate assets independently.

Related Reads

Exploring Bitcoin Valuation in 2026 from Macro and On-Chain Structural Perspectives

Tiger Research analyzes Bitcoin's valuation outlook for 2026 from macro and on-chain perspectives. Despite a 27% price drop in Q1, the macro environment remains supportive. Global M2 hit a record $13.44 trillion, but Chinese liquidity, which contributed over 60% of M2 growth, has limited access to Bitcoin markets. The Iran conflict pushed oil prices higher, raising March CPI to 3.3% and narrowing the Fed's rate cut path. However, the easing direction remains intact. Bitcoin ETF flows turned positive in March after five months of outflows, and corporate accumulation continues. On-chain metrics show a shift from undervaluation to early equilibrium. Key indicators like MVRV-Z and NUPL have exited panic zones. The critical resistance is at $78k, the long-term holder cost basis, while the key support is at $54k. Although transaction counts increased, active addresses and average transfer size declined, indicating superficial growth rather than real network expansion. BTCFi ecosystem growth has weakened, leading to a -10% adjustment in fundamental metrics. The 12-month price target is set at $143k, based on a $132.5k neutral benchmark adjusted by -10% (fundamentals) and +20% (macro). This represents a 103% upside from current levels. Short-term catalysts include a break above $78k, sustained ETF inflows, and a Fed policy shift post-geopolitical de-escalation.

marsbit13m ago

Exploring Bitcoin Valuation in 2026 from Macro and On-Chain Structural Perspectives

marsbit13m ago

Anthropic Starts Poaching Scientists? $27K Weekly Onsite Stipend to Fix Claude's Expert-Level Errors

Anthropic has launched a new STEM Fellow program, offering $3,800 per week for a three-month, in-person residency in San Francisco. The role targets experts from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields—machine learning experience is helpful but not required. Instead, Anthropic values scientific judgment and a willingness to learn quickly. Fellows will work with Claude models and internal tools under the guidance of an Anthropic researcher. Example projects include a materials scientist identifying errors in Claude’s reasoning or a climate scientist integrating atmospheric modeling software with Claude. The goal is to have experts "tell Claude where it's wrong" and improve its scientific capabilities. This initiative is part of Anthropic’s broader strategy to strengthen its scientific ecosystem, following earlier programs like the AI Safety Fellows and AI for Science programs. The company acknowledges that current AI models, while powerful, still produce high-confidence errors and lack end-to-end research autonomy. The program aims to embed domain expertise directly into model development, turning scientists into "high-level reviewers" for AI. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has previously emphasized AI’s potential to accelerate scientific breakthroughs, particularly in biology and healthcare. The company believes that the next phase of AI competition will depend not on scaling parameters, but on integrating human expertise to refine model accuracy and reliability.

marsbit44m ago

Anthropic Starts Poaching Scientists? $27K Weekly Onsite Stipend to Fix Claude's Expert-Level Errors

marsbit44m ago

VCs Sticking to the Primary Market: How Much Money Do They Still Have?

The article discusses the current state of the cryptocurrency venture capital (VC) market, based on a debate among investors from firms like Pantera Capital, Crucible Capital, and others. Key insights reveal that while VC funds are not short on capital, there is a scarcity of high-quality investment opportunities. The discussion highlights a structural shift: early-stage funding is more dispersed and competitive, with many smaller funds active, but later-stage growth capital is highly concentrated among a few large players like Paradigm and Pantera. Data indicates that over 80% of funding in 2026 went to later rounds, but this includes "graduated" fintech projects that have entered traditional VC realms. The core issue is not the availability of money, but its distribution and accessibility—early-stage founders face intense competition for funding, while later-stage funding is gatekept by a handful of major firms. This reflects a broader trend where VCs are being more selective, prioritizing long-term, proven projects over narrative-driven investments, and founders must demonstrate substantial progress and resilience to secure capital.

Odaily星球日报46m ago

VCs Sticking to the Primary Market: How Much Money Do They Still Have?

Odaily星球日报46m ago

Little Pepe ($LILPEPE) Builds Strong Investment Case With Potential 50x–100x Returns for Early Buyers

Little Pepe ($LILPEPE) is gaining significant attention as a promising crypto project, having raised nearly $28 million in its ongoing presale. The token price is currently $0.0022 and will increase to $0.0023 in the next stage, incentivizing early investment. The project highlights a potential 50x to 100x return for early buyers, targeting prices of $0.11 to $0.22 from the current near $0.01 value, though returns depend on market conditions. Beyond being a meme coin, Little Pepe offers utility through its Ethereum-based Layer 2 blockchain, featuring zero tax trades, bot protection, staking, a meme launchpad, and DAO governance. Additional incentives include a $77,000 token giveaway for ten participants and rewards for top contributors. While high-risk, the project's strong presale performance and functional ecosystem make it an attractive opportunity for investors seeking substantial returns.

TheNewsCrypto52m ago

Little Pepe ($LILPEPE) Builds Strong Investment Case With Potential 50x–100x Returns for Early Buyers

TheNewsCrypto52m ago

On the Eve of X Money's Launch, Musk Dismantles the Referee First

"X Money Launches After Dismantling Regulator: Musk's 9-Day Power Play" In February 2025, a team from the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, entered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters. Shortly after, the CFPB was effectively dismantled—its funding frozen, activities suspended, and nearly 90% of staff laid off. This move came just nine days after X announced a partnership with Visa and as X Money prepared to launch. The article contrasts this with the decade-long regulatory battles faced by companies like Coinbase and PayPal. Coinbase spent over $75 million in political contributions and endured a major SEC lawsuit to operate legally. PayPal complied with strict state and federal rules for its stablecoin PYUSD, including 100% reserve requirements and monthly audits. However, Musk’s approach was different. After the CFPB introduced a rule placing large digital payment apps under federal oversight, Musk tweeted "Delete CFPB." Within months, the rule was revoked by Congress. Meanwhile, DOGE operatives gained "god-tier" access to CFPB databases, potentially obtaining sensitive competitive information from rivals like Apple, Google, and PayPal. The article also highlights a "suspicious exemption clause" in the GENIUS Act, which allows private companies like X to issue stablecoins with fewer restrictions. Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned whether Musk, who was a senior presidential advisor during the Act’s drafting, influenced this clause. X Money offers a 6% APY on deposits, despite FDIC warnings that stablecoin users are not insured. As X Money launches to 600 million monthly users, the article questions the fairness of a system where Musk can bypass regulations that others spent years and millions to comply with. The dismantling of the CFPB and the alleged regulatory advantages raise concerns about the future of equitable rule-making in the U.S. financial system.

marsbit53m ago

On the Eve of X Money's Launch, Musk Dismantles the Referee First

marsbit53m ago

Trading

Spot
Futures

Hot Articles

Discussions

Welcome to the HTX Community. Here, you can stay informed about the latest platform developments and gain access to professional market insights. Users' opinions on the price of SOL (SOL) are presented below.

活动图片

Top Questions

Hot Categoriesright-arrow

Hot Tagsright-arrow