BeInCrypto Research has launched The State of AI Agent Payments 2026 report at TOKEN2049 Singapore, taking place 7-8 October at Marina Bay Sands. According to the report, the research was developed with input from members of the BeInCrypto Expert Council, including experts from AWS and Cloudflare. The report examines real-world use cases rather than forecasts, following on-chain money flows and reviewing products that allow agents to conduct transactions. The study asks businesses a critical question: what needs to be true before AI agent payments go mainstream.
A comprehensive 35-day sample of x402 payments on Base and Solana revealed 6.4 million transactions worth just $119,947 in total. As reported by BeInCrypto Research, 90.8% of transactions were worth less than one cent, representing exactly the type of payments that traditional payment cards were never designed for. Solana accounted for 94.5% of the sample's transactions, with most activity concentrated in just eight days. On August 26 alone, 145 addresses made 1,283,926 payments to just three recipient addresses, demonstrating concentrated rather than widespread usage patterns.
The most requested paid x402 resource was a two-cent token safety check with 63,319 calls in the sampled period, according to BeInCrypto Research. Most top services provided information or completed small software tasks, with these being recorded calls rather than confirmed purchases. The report documented two security incidents, including a public message that triggered a $175,000 transfer from an AI-linked wallet. Together, these incidents sent $281,200 to attacker-controlled wallets before any recoveries could be made.
Across four selected Hyperliquid connections, applications labeled as AI handled only 0.55% of $653.08 million in trading value. As reported by BeInCrypto Research, almost all trading activity, 99.4%, went through CCXT, a standard connection tool that makes no AI claims. Of 19 AI products and workflows reviewed, 14 operate within limits set in advance by a person or business, with none setting their own goals. Five of seven trading platforms explicitly block agents from withdrawing funds, demonstrating continued human oversight requirements.
BeInCrypto Research reviewed 36 funding rounds and acquisitions worth $4.25 billion in disclosed value, finding that around 92% went to payment and cash-management businesses rather than trading agents. The report notes that AI may also trade through CCXT unlabeled, suggesting this figure may not represent market-wide AI trading activity. The research emphasizes that while AI agent payments remain a significant topic in crypto, the actual on-chain activity and business demand remain limited compared to the hype surrounding the technology.
