Circle and OpenMind advance toward an autonomous AI economy with tokenized micropayments in USDC

Source: CritpoTendencia Original Title: Circle and OpenMind advance toward an autonomous AI economy with tokenized micropayments in USDC Original Link: Recently, Circle and OpenMind joined forces to promote a standard for autonomous micropayments in artificial intelligence (AI) using the USDC token. This development aligns with the emerging trend of AI agents, where bots and automated systems can trade without human intervention. The goal is to create a financial dynamic based on machine-to-machine transactions.

Circle, the issuer of USDC, aims to position this token as one of the central pillars of the AI agent ecosystem. In that context, the partnership with OpenMind represents a solid step toward that vision.

According to both companies, the main objective is to offer a micropayment protocol based on the aforementioned stablecoin. Its functions cover commerce between AI agents, applications, and even physical devices. All of these could execute automated transactions without human participation, opening the door to a futuristic dynamic that could mark a new stage for the digital economy.

The technology that enables this system is the x402 payment standard, according to Circle. This allows HTTP requests to simultaneously include payment processing, making it possible to automate small transactions autonomously.

For its part, OpenMind acts as a key technical partner, responsible for laying the necessary foundations for this ecosystem to function optimally.

Circle drives USDC as the currency of commerce in the AI era

The commercial expansion of AI could make USDC one of the most used tokens for machine-to-machine payments. This is reinforced by the fact that Circle operates under strict regulatory standards, making its stablecoin a reliable asset for experiments related to automation and next-generation digital commerce.

If this project progresses as planned, it could become the foundation of the autonomous agent economy. This would generate new revenue streams for data providers, computing platforms, and API marketplaces, especially for those still dependent on more traditional payment schemes.

However, this futuristic vision is still in an early phase. The x402 technology requires participation from data providers, cloud services, and API operators willing to accept automated micropayments. This dependence on additional infrastructure represents one of the main challenges to scaling the system.

Consequently, the image of AI agents trading with USDC without human intervention is not yet imminent. Nonetheless, both Circle and OpenMind believe this is the natural course of technological evolution, and partnerships like this lay the groundwork for what could become a new era for automated commerce.