Tech · 19 d ago
Crypto lobby urges Canada to let AI agents pay with stablecoins
A crypto token pegged to the US dollar
stablecoin
Stand with Crypto, a lobby group linked to Coinbase, sent MPs a report on Thursday arguing that blockchain wallets are the easiest and cheapest way for AI agents to spend money. A stablecoin is a crypto token pegged to the US dollar.
Paid through x402 in the last 30 days
24 million US$
The x402 protocol, a payment standard backed by Stripe, Coinbase and Shopify, processed about US$24 million over the last 30 days. McKinsey forecasts AI agents will be involved in US$3 trillion to US$5 trillion of transactions by 2030.
Stablecoin payments cannot be reversed, which makes an agent's mistake hard to undo. AI agents "shouldn't have open-ended access to anyone's money," said Eric Richmond, Coinbase's head of Canada, calling spending caps and human sign-offs key.
— Eric Richmond, Coinbase head of Canada
And us?
What's next
Ottawa is drafting the regulations for its federal stablecoin legislation. The lobby says clear rules will be key if Canada is to take a leading role in agentic commerce.
