TL;DR:
- Base launched Base MCP, a tool that connects accounts with AI agents to execute onchain operations directly from a chat interface.
- The agent can transfer funds, execute swaps and check balances, but each action requires explicit user confirmation and the server never accesses private keys.
- It includes plugins for Morpho, Moonwell, Uniswap, Aerodrome, Avantis, Bankr and Virtuals, with more protocols on the way.
Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum L2 blockchain, launched a new tool that connects user accounts with artificial intelligence agents to execute operations directly onchain. The solution is called Base MCP —Model Context Protocol— and allows models like Claude by Anthropic or ChatGPT by OpenAI to propose transfers, swaps, balance queries and transaction history from the same chat interface.
The system’s design prioritizes user control. When the agent proposes an action, the Base account opens in a new window where the user can confirm or reject the operation before any asset moves. The MCP server never accesses private keys: it stores the pending request until the user independently approves and signs it. Each transaction also displays a simulation of the expected changes to the assets.
Base: Agent Payments Are the Next Big Use Case
Lincoln Murr, head of AI product at Coinbase, stated that the tool is a mechanism that allows the account to “travel with the user,” syncing operations, history and portfolio both within the agent and in the main application. Murr also noted that MCP acts as a “wrapper” over existing APIs and, combined with the x402 protocol —the agentic payments standard the exchange launched in May 2025—, opens the door to a crypto microtransaction economy between agents. However, that market remains in an early stage: according to x402scan data, the volume processed by x402 over the past 30 days barely exceeded $1.1 million.
The model currently includes skill plugins for seven ecosystem protocols: Morpho and Moonwell for lending, Uniswap and Aerodrome for liquidity and swaps, Avantis for perpetuals markets, Bankr for token launches and Virtuals for agent tokens. Developers can also build their own plugins through a markdown specification that describes how to call their protocol’s API.
