AI Agent Crypto Payments Surpass 138 Million Transactions, US Dominates Inference Service Spending

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents are rapidly expanding their use of cryptocurrencies to purchase data and computing resources. According to a report published by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis on October 14, more than 138 million transactions were confirmed on the Base blockchain through "x402," a payment protocol developed by US-based Coinbase, as of July 2026.

x402 is a mechanism that enables software such as AI agents to automatically pay for digital services—including data, computing resources, and access to AI models—using cryptocurrencies. Payment giants Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe support the protocol, and Coinbase enables its institutional clients to accept payments from AI agents.

According to Chainalysis's analysis, more than 87% of x402 payments confirmed over the 16-month period through September 2026 were microtransactions ranging from $0.01 to $0.10. The ability to process micropayments via stablecoins—transactions that are uneconomical under traditional credit card systems—is becoming the foundation of the AI agent economy.

US Dominates Inference Service Spending, China Concentrates on Security

Regional analysis shows that US-linked wallets accounted for 88.1% of geographically attributable transactions for AI model inference services. In contrast, China-linked wallets represented a mere 0.1%.