Circle makes USDC push into AI agent payment tools

Circle launched a suite of tools designed to let AI agents hold wallets, discover services and make programmable payments using USDC, as companies race to build financial infrastructure for autonomous software systems.

The products, released under Circle’s new “Agent Stack,” include agent-focused wallets, a command-line developer interface, a marketplace for agentic services and a nanopayments protocol for machine-to-machine transactions.

Circle said the nanopayments infrastructure supports gas-free USDC (USDC) transfers as small as $0.000001 and is designed for high-frequency autonomous payment flows between software systems.

The company said the tools are built to allow AI agents to transact autonomously within predefined permissions, spending controls and policy guardrails across supported blockchains and payment networks.

The rollout also includes Circle CLI, a command interface for developers and AI agents building applications on Circle’s platform, and Agent Wallets, which the company said are designed for agents to hold, send and manage funds independently.

Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization with roughly $78 billion in circulation, according to DeFiLlama data. Shares of Circle (CRCL) were up around 18% in midday trading and more than 51% over the past month.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Related: Why stablecoins and SWIFT may have to coexist

Stablecoins emerge as payment rails for AI agents

Circle’s launch comes as crypto companies increasingly position stablecoins and blockchain networks as financial infrastructure for AI agents.

In March, MoonPay released an open-source wallet standard designed to let AI agents manage funds and execute transactions across blockchains through a shared wallet framework with built-in policy controls and encrypted key storage. That same month, BitGo launched an AI-focused developer tool that allows AI agents and assistants to access wallet tools, API resources and technical documentation through natural-language prompts.

Visa also introduced a command-line tool for AI-driven payments without exposing API keys, while Stripe-backed Tempo launched a blockchain and payments protocol designed for stablecoin transactions between autonomous software systems.

Meanwhile, Coinbase said its Ethereum layer-2 network Base was upgrading infrastructure for an “AI agent economy,” with plans focused on stablecoin payments, tokenized assets and developer tools for autonomous software systems.

Last week, Exodus launched XO Cash, a Solana-based stablecoin and developer toolkit designed to let AI agents make payments through agent-linked wallets with configurable spending controls and access to Visa payment rails.

The growing push toward AI-driven automation has already begun to reshape company workforces. Earlier this month, Coinbase said it would cut roughly 14% of its staff, as CEO Brian Armstrong pointed to advances in AI as one of the factors changing how its teams operate.

Source: Brian Armstrong

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