Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has launched an open payments protocol for artificial intelligence agents, joining a growing push by cryptocurrency and payments companies to build infrastructure that allows software agents to pay for services and conduct transactions with less human intervention.
The up-to-date cross-chain Agent Payment Protocol (APP) is designed to enable AI agents to work and communicate autonomously. OKX he said Wednesday that the cross-chain standard can support agent-to-agent payments, recurring payment or top-up flows, and other automated payment arrangements in business processes. The company also said that agents will be able to negotiate among themselves, deposit funds and release them after verifying the completion of the task.
OKX says the platform is built around a standalone agent wallet and payments SDK, with Layer X support and broader cross-chain implementation. The company pitches the protocol as a way for AI agents to move from uncomplicated payment requests to more autonomous commercial activity.
The launch comes as competition intensifies in building payment rails for AI agents. Google has been promoting its AP2 protocol, Coinbase has its x402 standard, and efforts around Visa and Stripe have also moved into the space, with companies apparently trying to quickly define rails for machine-to-machine trading.
APP compared to existing payment protocols. source: OKX
OKX focuses on end-to-end AI agent trading
OKX presents the app as a broader commerce layer rather than a uncomplicated payment button.
The company says AI agents can query market data sources in real time, the service responds with an HTTP 402 payment request, and agents pay for the connection with automatic settlement.
Related: Stablecoin issuers and fintechs strive to have payment rails
Agents can then hire a specialized sub-agent to complete the research task, APP opens an escrow account, and payment is released upon verification upon delivery of the work.
OKX AI agent structure. source: OKX
Developers can also exploit OKX’s payment tools on X Layer, where the company says some stablecoin transfers can be completed without gas fees.
The growing race to enable machine payments may also support the exploit of stablecoins, as they can support unlock machine-to-machine payments by making microtransactions profitable and enabling programmable, conditional payments between software agents without human intervention, Bernstein said in March.
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