As AI agents begin to work for humans and, increasingly, for each other, they will need a way to find jobs, pay for services, and build trust. Crypto exchange OKX It’s betting the future is closer than many expect, launching a marketplace where AI agents can hire each other, make payments autonomously, and build reputation on a portable chain.
The marketplace, called OKX AI, opens to developers on Tuesday after a closed beta involving 50 early AI service providers. The marketplace is based on previously developed OKX technology to allow AI agents to maintain digital wallets, make payments using stablecoins, and create persistent identities.
The launch marks OKX’s latest push beyond cryptocurrency trading as it seeks to become a broader fintech company. With more than 150 million users globally, OKX is betting that the next generation of customers will not only be people or institutions, but also artificial intelligence agents that can conduct transactions autonomously, leading to an emerging “agent economy.”
Star Xu, founder and CEO of OKX, told TechCrunch, “The next decade will be defined by one-person companies that generate more than $1 million in annual revenue — because each individual gains an effectively unlimited workforce.” “Traditional financial infrastructure was built for people. The agent economy needs infrastructure designed for autonomous software. That’s why we built OKX.AI.”
Haider Rafique, chief marketing officer and global managing partner of OKX, said the company believes “agent commerce” driven by micropayments and autonomous software could become a trillion-dollar market within the next five years.
Rafiq told TechCrunch that the market is aimed at cryptocurrency developers building AI applications and solo entrepreneurs looking to automate part of their business with AI agents. The company expects those developers to create apps for the marketplace, allowing other users to access AI-powered tools without having to build them from scratch.
Among the first developers are CertiK, whose service allows AI agents to assess the security of a crypto wallet or token before executing a transaction, and CoinAnk, which provides live market data on a fee-per-request basis. Another launch partner, GenLayer, is bringing to market a dispute resolution infrastructure to help AI agents resolve contractual disagreements.
Using blockchain-based payments and stablecoins, the company says AI agents can handle round-the-clock transactions, including low-value micropayments, that are impractical using conventional payment rails.
Rafique said OKX is deploying the same fraud detection, compliance systems and in-house developed infrastructure that supports cryptocurrency exchanges on the market, and will be rolled out in stages before becoming more widely used.
OKX’s launch comes at a time when tech companies and startups are racing to build the infrastructure to support AI agents, from developer platforms and marketplaces to payment and identity systems. Albert Castellana, co-founder and CEO of GenLayer Labs, said the biggest challenge is not just enabling AI agents to perform transactions, but helping them discover each other and resolve disputes when things go wrong.
“What we’re building is essentially a digital court system,” Castellana told TechCrunch. “The problem for us is distribution. OKX already has that.”
Rafique argues that OKX’s biggest advantage is not just its technology, but its reach. The company believes that its existing network of cryptocurrency developers and users will help the market germinate, while its broader strategy goes well beyond digital assets.
In March, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, invested about $200 million in OKX. worth $25 billion. Rafique said the partnership is part of the company’s ambition to “modernize markets” through tokenization, while OKX AI represents a parallel effort to “modernize money” for the age of autonomous software.
Developers are entering the market through Onchain OS, an OKX toolkit for connecting AI agents to blockchain-based services. No OKX account is required to get started, and the platform is compatible with AI coding tools including Claude Code, Codex, Hermes and OpenClaw, the company said.
India features prominently in OKX’s plans as the market is primarily aimed at developers rather than retail users. The country has emerged as one of the world’s biggest hubs for artificial intelligence and blockchain developers, a community the company hopes to reach even before the broader return of its crypto trading business.
OKX in 2024 He ceased his services in India as it governs the country’s regulatory requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges. Rafiq told TechCrunch that India remains one of the company’s highest priority markets, adding that development products like OKX AI face fewer regulatory hurdles than spot crypto trading and could help the company connect with the country’s founder ecosystem more quickly.
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