Google's major transformation: AI payments, stablecoins first

By ChandlerZ, Foresight News

As artificial intelligence becomes an indispensable part of our lives and work, how will it conduct value exchange? Google has provided an answer: through stablecoins.

On September 16, Google announced the launch of a new open-source payment protocol designed to establish a unified standard for value transfer between different AI applications. The protocol supports traditional payment methods such as credit and debit cards, and for the first time integrates stablecoins into its framework.

Collaborating with crypto firms including Coinbase and the Ethereum Foundation, Google has strengthened support for stablecoins in this protocol, aiming to address challenges AI agents may face in future widespread adoption—such as cross-border payments, value transmission, and settlement efficiency. James Tromans, Head of Web3 at Google Cloud, said in an interview with Fortune: "When we built this system from scratch, we considered both traditional and existing payment channel capabilities, as well as future payment capabilities like stablecoins."

This move signifies that Google is no longer maintaining distance from the crypto industry through indirect means such as advertising policies or cloud node hosting. Instead, it is directly incorporating stablecoins into its product architecture for the first time, exploring real-world applications within the AI ecosystem.

Google Launches AI Payment Protocol with Stablecoins as a Core Component

According to official disclosures, over 60 organizations participated in developing this payment protocol, spanning technology, finance, e-commerce, and crypto-native institutions. The partnership with Coinbase is seen as pivotal: as one of the most compliant U.S. crypto exchanges, Coinbase has long been active in the stablecoin space, and its collaboration with Circle on USDC has made it a leading representative of mainstream stablecoins.

The protocol's design logic ensures compatibility with both traditional payment networks and next-generation payment capabilities. In other words, future AI agents will be able to complete transactions via credit card or directly use stablecoins for instant settlement. This dual-track model lays the foundation for Google to build a sustainable AI-to-AI payment system.

The inclusion of stablecoins will draw particular attention. Compared to volatile crypto assets like Bitcoin, stablecoins are pegged to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar, offering a stable value anchor in automated payment scenarios and reducing transaction risks. In frequent cross-border payments or microservice calls triggered by AI agents, the low cost and fast settlement advantages of stablecoins are especially prominent.

However, using stablecoins as a core payment tool also faces significant challenges. First is regulatory fragmentation. While some major economies (such as the United States) are establishing clearer regulatory frameworks for stablecoins, global legal and compliance requirements remain highly complex and inconsistent. Different countries have varying rules regarding the issuance, circulation, and clearing of stablecoins, which undoubtedly creates compliance hurdles for AI agents conducting global, automated payments.

In addition, technical security and risk control are critical. The autonomous payment capability of AI agents demands extremely high blockchain security and smart contract auditing—any vulnerability could lead to irreversible financial losses. Building a system that ensures both payment efficiency and effective prevention of money laundering, fraud, and other risks will be a long-term challenge for Google and its partners.

Meanwhile, user acceptance of this new payment method, education costs, and how to manage permissions and conduct risk audits when AI agents possess direct payment capabilities are also significant challenges that cannot be overlooked.

Strategic Alliances: Standardization and Multi-Party Collaboration as an Inevitable Path

This payment protocol extends Google’s strategic positioning within the AI agent ecosystem.

In April this year, Google launched a unified communication protocol enabling AI agents from different companies to "talk" to each other. Now, the addition of payment functionality signifies that AI interaction is evolving from information exchange to value exchange.

To ensure interoperability and compliance, Google has partnered not only with Coinbase but also with institutions including Salesforce and American Express. The involvement of crypto-native organizations such as the Ethereum Foundation ensures security and technical scalability for the stablecoin and on-chain payment components.

Additionally, Sui and EigenCloud have become early partners in the protocol. The former, developed by Mysten Labs, offers sub-second programmable payment capabilities and builds an efficient, privacy-focused infrastructure through Walrus decentralized storage, Move smart contracts, and zkLogin private identity—enabling AI agents to conduct value exchange at near real-time speed while ensuring security and compliance. EigenCloud, on the other hand, focuses on "verifiability," aiming to ensure that all actions taken by AI agents can not only be recorded but also proven and audited.

This cross-sector collaboration reflects a reality: the future of AI and payments cannot be dominated by a single company; it requires standardized protocols to enable interconnectivity among different entities. Google has emphasized that the goal of this protocol is not to replace existing payment networks, but rather to allow AI agents to flexibly access various payment methods through compatibility and expansion.

Industry Outlook and Summary

From a broader perspective, the collaboration between Google and Coinbase sends a clear signal: the convergence of AI and crypto finance is accelerating.

As AI agents see increasing application in areas such as shopping, financial management, and content creation, their payment needs are shifting from one-off transactions to continuous, automated, cross-border micropayments.

Under this backdrop, the value of stablecoins stands out. Their global usability, real-time processing, programmability, and cost advantages make them a natural fit for AI-to-AI transactions. Whether in cross-border payments or auto-executing smart contract scenarios, stablecoins offer more efficient solutions than traditional payment systems.

This is why major tech companies such as Shopify, Meta, and Apple have recently begun exploring stablecoin applications. As markets like the United States gradually ease regulations, stablecoins are evolving from niche tools in the crypto market into a key bridge for global payments and the AI economy.

Overall, Google’s newly released payment protocol is not merely a product update—it resembles more of a prelude to the evolution of the global payment system. It suggests that if AI-to-AI transaction scenarios gain rapid adoption, stablecoins could become the core monetary form supporting their operation. For the crypto industry, this represents not only a new opportunity for real-world adoption but also the potential for a fundamental restructuring of payment logic over the next decade.