As AI agents begin working for people and, increasingly, each other, they will need ways to find work, pay for services, and build trust. Cryptocurrency exchange OKX is betting that the future is closer than many expected by launching a marketplace where AI agents can hire each other, autonomously settle payments, and build portable on-chain reputations.
The marketplace, called OKX AI, will open to developers on Tuesday after a closed beta with 50 initial AI service providers. The marketplace is built on technology previously developed by OKX to enable AI agents to maintain digital wallets, use stablecoins to make payments, and establish persistent identities.
The launch marks OKX’s latest effort to move beyond crypto trading as it aims to become a broader fintech company. With over 150 million users worldwide, OKX believes that the next generation of customers will not only be people and organizations, but also AI agents capable of autonomous transactions, creating a new “agent economy.”
“The next 10 years will be defined by private businesses with annual revenues of over $1 million, because every individual will have access to a virtually unlimited workforce,” Star Xu, founder and CEO of OKX, told TechCrunch. “Traditional financial infrastructure was built for humans. The agent economy requires an infrastructure designed for autonomous software. That’s why we built OKX.AI.”
Haider Rafique, OKX’s chief marketing officer and global managing partner, said the company believes micropayments and autonomous software could make “agency commerce” a $1 trillion market over the next five years.
Rafiq told TechCrunch that the marketplace is aimed at cryptocurrency developers building AI applications and solopreneurs who want to automate parts of their business using AI agents. The company expects these developers to build market-ready applications and give others access to AI-powered tools without having to build them from scratch.
Early builders include CertiK, which offers a service that allows AI agents to assess the security of a cryptocurrency wallet or token before executing a trade, and CoinAnk, which provides live market data on a pay-per-query basis. Another launch partner, GenLayer, is bringing dispute resolution infrastructure to market to enable AI agents to resolve contractual disagreements.
The company says that by using blockchain-based payments and stablecoins, its AI agents can settle transactions around the clock, including small micropayments that are not practical with traditional payment rails.
Rafiq said OKX is applying the same fraud detection, compliance systems and in-house developed infrastructure that underpins cryptocurrency exchanges to the market, which will be rolled out in stages before becoming more widely available.
OKX’s launch comes as technology companies and startups race to build the infrastructure to support AI agents, from developer platforms and marketplaces to payments and identity systems. Albert Castellana, co-founder and CEO of GenLayer Labs, said the biggest challenge is not just enabling AI agents to transact, but helping them discover each other and resolve disputes when they arise.
“What we’re building is essentially a digital court system,” Castellana told TechCrunch. “The challenge for us is distribution, and OKX already has that.”
Rafiq argues that OKX’s biggest advantage is not just its technology, but its reach. The company believes its existing network of crypto developers and users will help seed the market, while its broader strategy extends far beyond digital assets.
In March, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, invested about $200 million in OKX, which was valued at $25 billion. Rafiq said that while the partnership is part of the company’s ambition to “modernize markets” through tokenization, OKX AI represents a parallel effort to “modernize money” for the era of autonomous software.
Developers access the marketplace through Onchain OS, OKX’s toolkit for connecting AI agents to blockchain-based services. The company says you don’t need an OKX account to get started, and the platform is compatible with AI coding tools such as Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, and OpenClaw.
India features heavily in OKX’s plans, as this market is aimed primarily at developers rather than retail users. The country has emerged as one of the world’s largest hubs for AI and blockchain developers, and the company hopes to reach this community even before the widespread resumption of crypto trading operations.
In 2024, OKX suspended its services in India to comply with India’s regulatory requirements for crypto exchanges. Rafique told TechCrunch that India remains one of the company’s top priority markets, adding that developer products such as OKX AI have lower regulatory hurdles than spot crypto trading and could allow the company to reconnect with India’s builder ecosystem faster.
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