Alchemy Launches Automated Base Payment System for AI Agents

Alchemy provides nodes, APIs and onchain data to applications including Robinhood Crypto, Uniswap, OpenSea and Aave. AI agents need to query data, manage assets and pay small fees around the clock, making traditional bank and credit-card processes that rely on human authorization a bottleneck.

On February 27, 2026, Alchemy launched an autonomous payment mechanism on Base. When prepaid credits run out, the system uses Coinbase’s x402 standard to trigger an HTTP 402 payment request and automatically tops up the balance with USDC, with a minimum payment of just $1. On April 8, Alchemy also launched AgentPay, connecting protocols including x402, MPP and A2P.