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ToggleCoinbase 's Ethereum Layer 2 network, Base, announced on Tuesday the launch of its MCP (Model Context Protocol) tool, enabling AI agents to directly operate encrypted wallets on Base. Users can simply use natural language commands, and Claude and ChatGPT can help them transfer funds, exchange tokens, check balances, browse transaction records, and even interact with DeFi protocols such as Morpho and Uniswap.
This tool allows AI models to go beyond simply "reading information" and actually perform blockchain operations, while the wallet's private key remains in the user's hands.
The AI provides the operation, and you press the confirmation button.
Base explains on its official blog that the Base MCP's operation is very intuitive: the AI Agent provides operation suggestions in the chat interface, and the Base wallet then opens in a new window where the user can confirm or cancel the transaction. Before the user presses confirm, the system will simulate asset changes to show what will happen.
Lincoln Murr, Coinbase's AI product lead , told Fortune , "Your Base wallet will follow you, whether in the AI Agent or the Base App; transactions, history, and portfolios will all be synchronized."
Supported protocols include Morpho, Moonwell, Uniswap, Aerodrome, Avantis, Bankr, and Virtuals, covering areas such as lending, DEX, liquidity, and AI agents.
x402 Protocol: The Underlying Foundation of AI Micro-Payments
Base MCP is also an extension suite of Coinbase's x402 protocol, launched in May 2025. x402 is an AI Agent payment standard that allows AI models to make tiny payments in cryptocurrency as naturally as humans browse the web.
However, this micropayment economy is still in its early stages. According to x402scan data, the x402 protocol processed approximately $1.1 million in transactions over the past 30 days. Murr describes MCP as a "sophisticated package" on top of APIs, working in conjunction with x402 to drive the AI Agent micropayment ecosystem.
AI Agents Are Not Infallible: A Researcher's Reminder
The application of AI agents in the field of encryption is not without risks. Researchers from Google and Meta recently published a paper pointing out that AI agents should be regarded as "untrusted system components" and need to clearly distinguish between instructions and data to prevent attackers from hiding malicious instructions.
Just this week, the developer platform Socket also discovered that malware hijacked an AI programming assistant by injecting hidden instructions, targeting crypto developers.
What's next for AI wallets?
The emergence of Base MCP essentially moves the "user interface" of crypto wallets from wallet apps to AI chat windows. For users, this means that once it becomes widespread in the future, they may not need to switch between multiple DeFi protocols. They can simply tell the AI, "Convert USDC to ETH and deposit it into Aave," to complete the entire chain operation.
The key point is that the accuracy of the AI Agent depends on the timeliness of the training data and news information. If the Base Wallet's AI misjudges slippage or gas fees during currency exchange, users still need to spend time confirming. The MCP tool is more like an "automatic completion" function for crypto operations than "fully automatic driving".
It's worth noting that Base, as Coinbase's L2 network, directly connects its own wallet ecosystem with mainstream AI models through the MCP tool. This is not only a technological integration but also a competition for user traffic entry points. When both your Claude and ChatGPT can operate the Base wallet, Coinbase's user acquisition costs will be significantly reduced.
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MCP (Model Context Protocol): A digital connector for encrypted AI.
