Ant Digital Technologies, the blockchain division of Chinese conglomerate Ant Group, has launched a platform named Anvita to enable AI agents to transact on crypto rails. Introduced at the Real Up summit in Cannes, Anvita is designed to support an 'agent-to-agent economy' where autonomous software programs can manage assets, execute trades, and make payments with minimal human involvement. The platform includes two initial products: Anvita TaaS, which focuses on tokenizing real-world assets for institutions, and Anvita Flow, a system for AI agents to register, interact, and settle payments in real time. Zhuoqun Bian, president of blockchain business at Ant Digital Technologies, emphasized the shift from static digital asset infrastructure to an onchain agentic economy where autonomous agents will hold assets and optimize portfolios. Anvita Flow integrates the x402 protocol, developed by Coinbase and Cloudflare, allowing stablecoin payments over HTTP. This integration enables sub-cent transactions using USDC, bypassing traditional billing systems and human approval. The platform also features an Agent Store with modules for data collection, financial analysis, and gaming, supporting frameworks like OpenClaw and Claude Code. Ant Digital's move aligns with a broader trend of companies developing infrastructure for AI-driven commerce. Visa and Coinbase have introduced competing protocols for agent-based payments, while Google unveiled its Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) in September. Mastercard's acquisition of stablecoin firm BVNK for $1.8 billion highlights the growing interest in blockchain settlement among traditional payment networks. The Solana Foundation reported over 15 million onchain agent transactions, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong anticipates agents surpassing humans in transaction volume. Despite these developments, current usage of the x402 protocol remains low, with daily volume around $28,000, much of it from testing. Ant Digital is pursuing USDC integration with Circle and applying for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Luxembourg. McKinsey projects that AI agents could mediate $3 trillion to $5 trillion in global consumer commerce by 2030, though adoption is still in early stages.
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