Matt Corallo, a well-known developer of the Bitcoin Core client, points to Bitcoin as the most consistent alternative to enable automated payments by artificial intelligence (AI) agents without relying on a closed platform.
“The time has come to seriously try to implement payments for open agents. Regardless of what you think about Bitcoin, the truth is: “This is exactly what it was made for.”.
Developers emphasize that Bitcoin does not require authentication create wallet Also not dependent on a central publisher This can freeze funds and is a useful architecture to avoid centralized AI agents.
Corallo exemplifies that while credit and debit cards function as systems where there is always an intermediary (such as Visa or Mastercard) and payments can be reversed through chargebacks in the event of charges or fraud, Bitcoin (BTC) operates on a different logic. In other words, once a transaction is confirmed on the network, cannot be canceled unilaterally.
In practical terms, this means that there is no third party that can block or cancel a payment after it has been made. For an autonomous agent, its properties are Reduces friction associated with disputes, rollbacks, and human verification It forms part of the traditional financial system today.
Corallo acknowledges that BTC has volatility, which is one of the common arguments in favor of stablecoins. However, he points out that there are processors that automatically convert between dollars and bitcoins at the time of payment, reducing the impact of price fluctuations.
The programmers also emphasize that stablecoins typically rely on issuing companies that can freeze funds or collect interest generated by capital in circulation.
As reported by CriptoNoticias, in line with Corallo’s request, the Lightning Enable team recently launched a new open-source tool that enables AI agents to perform micropayments on Bitcoin’s second layer (L2) network, the Lightning Network (LN).
However, other crypto asset networks such as Ethereum, Polygon, and BNB Chain are currently attracting larger numbers of artificial intelligence agents than Bitcoin, likely due to greater integration with central authorities.
AI agent failure, according to Matt Corallo
So-called “AI agents” are programs designed to autonomously perform tasks such as booking services, hiring digital infrastructure, and transferring funds.
Developers claim that the main obstacle for these agents is not their technical ability, but the virtual impossibility of purchasing goods and services on the Internet. With the current payment system.
Significant bottlenecks to agent dominance still exist. Agents still cannot reliably buy things.
Matt Collaro, Bitcoin Core Developer.
“Modern online payment systems are built on technologies that are actively hostile to agents, and by extension bots,” Corallo said. Requires human verificationpasswords, captchas, and chargeback mechanisms that assume there is someone behind each purchase.
According to his analysis, asking an AI agent to manipulate your credit card is like giving him the key to a safe that is not meant to be trusted. If something goes wrong, Traditional systems provide readiness to reverse payments or block accounts. In Corallo’s vision, that logic protects human consumers but conflicts with full automation.
Risk of payments remaining in the hands of a few
Corallo claims that almost every major company in the financial and technology space is seeking to position itself as the owner of payment infrastructure for AI agents.
Many companies, from Visa to Stripe, Coinbase, Google, and OpenAI, are developing and promoting “proxy payments standards.”
Matt Collaro, Bitcoin Core Developer.
An example of this is Visa working on a new product called Smart Commerce. OpenAI and Stripe, the creators of ChatGPT, announced the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP).
Google Cloud introduced Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) last September, and crypto exchange Coinbase also launched an AI-powered payment protocol called x402 last year.
The central point is structural rather than technical. Once these standards become the mandatory gateway for agents to buy online, Those who control them will be able to define the rulesFees and Access Terms.
“Almost every player in the payments industry is looking to position themselves as having an agent-based payment platform,” says the developer. In other words, you can decide which agents can operate and under what conditions.
Corallo cautions that while some of these protocols are presented as “open,” their implementation requires permission or relies on contracts with specific companies.
In this scenario, open source agent developers will be at a disadvantage compared to proprietary platforms integrated directly into large AI labs.