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  • 🤖 Agentic Wallets are here, not just another “AI Integration”

🤖 Agentic Wallets are here, not just another “AI Integration”

PLUS: Agentic wallets go live, the UK tokenizes government debt, U.S. shutdown odds spike, tariffs spark political fractures, and SEC enforcement drops 60%.

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Cryptopolitan News
February 12, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Agentic Wallets are here, not just another “AI Integration”

Coinbase has unveiled a new crypto wallet for retail customers with exactly five assets, according to the company’s blog. Not bots that buy dog coins to front-run users, actual AI agents with the power to pay for stuff, earn yield, trade tokens and do what you tell it with your money (that is explicitly limited by you of course).

Practically speaking, it’s like giving ChatGPT its own debit card… with parental controls.

These Agentic Wallets are one part of a larger movement that’s happening quickly:

AI agents are no longer simply writing emails or summarizing PDFs, they’re starting to talk with the blockchain too. Coinbase says the new wallets are a safe way to allow agents to do things like:

  • If one yield is higher across two platforms, your USDC should move automatically.

  • Pay another agent for data, access or compute

  • Purchase a Solana token at 3 am if my set conditions are met

  • All without bugging you for a “Confirm” click.

So how does this even work?

It’s all built on x402, a payment standard that Coinbase cobbled together that more or less enables software to say:

“Hey, here’s a service, pay me and I’ll answer.”

It’s like the HTTP 404 error… except for payments.

Agentic Wallets point into this standard, enabling agents to really be able to pay other agents (or services) in the real world. No humans, no UI, no off-chain invoices happen.

Just machines settling up, right on-chain.

They even went out of their way to ensure it would work on BNB Chain and Solana, not just Base. That has the potential for lightning-quick, gasless payments, perfect for high-frequency microtransactions between bots.

(Yes, welcome to the “machine economy. It’s not sci-fi anymore.)

Why now?

Developers at Coinbase say they were already using A.I. tools throughout their workflow, to process support tickets, distill docs good and bad, even automate internal tasks.

But touching crypto was another matter entirely? 

Everything broke. Cryptocurrency wallets and payment mechanisms pose no safe way to give A.I. control of funds or the ability to make payments.

Agentic Wallets fix that:

You grant permission, set spending limits, specify what the agents are allowed to do.

Agents can execute transactions around the clock, without need for human input

Bigger picture?

Coinbase is betting on a future not just in which AI agents are assistants but where they also act economically.

They will buy, sell, trade and settle on their own.

Not to get rich for themselves, but to make your digital life easier.

And with the explosion of x402 cross chains, that future may be closer than we think.

📊 Poll: Would you let an AI agent handle your crypto?

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📊 Market Watch

🏛️ The UK is at last tokenising gilts

Following years of “we’re looking into it,” the UK Treasury has chosen HSBC’s blockchain platform to underpin its digital gilt pilot.

Translation: Britain is running a trial on a tokenized form of government debt in the context of a regulated sandbox led by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The pitch? Speedier settlement, reduced admin costs and modern plumbing for the capital markets.

Other countries like Hong Kong and Luxembourg have already sold digital sovereign bonds. In a tokenized world, the UK doesn’t want to be the one still faxing paperwork.

HSBC’s Orion is already responsible for over $3.5B of digital bonds world-wide. Now it’s Britain’s turn.

👀 TL;DR: The UK is no longer just talking about tokenization. It’s an exploration into the ability of government bonds to exist on-chain.

🇺🇸 House votes to rein in Trump’s Canada tariffs

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to restrict President Trump’s ability to impose new ally-related tariffs.

In an unusual, bipartisan act, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted 219–211 to end Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods. Six Republicans crossed the aisle.

It likely dies in the Senate. And if it doesn’t, the president is virtually guaranteed to veto.

But the message is what matters: Tariffs are emerging as a political fault line heading into midterms.

Trump threatened Republican lawmakers that they would “pay a big price” if they crossed him. Responding to the decision, critics have suggested that tariffs amount to little more than another tax paid by American consumers.

The Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit challenging the president’s authority to issue them.

👀 TL;DR: Even if tariffs remain, fractures are deepening. Trade policy is in election-season mode again.

🛑 Shutdown odds skyrocket as Bitcoin stumbles

Prediction markets now price in an 85% chance of a U.S. government shutdown ahead of the funding deadline.

Bitcoin is trading around $67K, Fear & Greed sitting in extreme fear.

Markets tend to get jittery when funding fights begin to really smoke. Crypto, being crypto, feels this first.

Analysts are split. Some see a grind lower toward $60K, while others believe this is simply another volatility shakeout inside a larger range.

Either way, the macro backdrop is not helping.

👀 TL;DR: Drama in Washington + thin risk appetite = skittish crypto traders.

 đŸĽ Top tweets

Are you watching

Crypto enforcement is down 60% and Congress wants answers.

Lawmakers grilled SEC Chair Paul Atkins this week over a steep drop in crypto crackdowns since he took over. Just 13 actions were brought in 2025, down from 33 the year before, and over half were carryovers from Gensler’s term.

Rep. Waters and Rep. Lynch called out the sudden dismissals of major cases like Binance, accusing Atkins of going soft on industry giants and possibly opening the door to foreign influence.

The flashpoint?

Trump-linked memecoins and ties between a UAE royal fund and Trump-backed WLFI, raising national security flags.

Enforcement fines also plunged to $142M in 2025, just 3% of the previous year.

👀 TL;DR:

The SEC’s tone has shifted. Congress isn’t happy. And Trump-world’s crypto ties are under the microscope.

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