USDC powers 99.3% of x402 AI agent payments

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire identified payments between artificial intelligence agents as a major emerging opportunity for USDC during an Aug. 19 earnings webcast. Summary 99.3% of x402 agent-payment volume settled in USDC during Circle’s second quarter, company figures showed. USDC circulation reached $73.3 billion at quarter-end, increasing 19% from the previous year, Circle reported. Circle recorded $14.8 trillion in quarterly USDC transaction volume, representing 151% year-over-year growth during Q2. Circle’s Agent Stack hosted more than 900 paid services following its May 2026 launch globally. Arc’s public mainnet launch remains scheduled for September 16, with programmable agent-finance tools included there. Allaire said software agents need a reliable unit of account that supports fast, inexpensive and predictable settlement. Circle’s second-quarter figures showed that 99.3% of payment volume using the x402 agent-payment protocol settled in USDC. USDC dominates x402 rather than every AI payment protocol The 99.3% figure applies specifically to x402 activity measured by Circle. It should not be interpreted as USDC processing 99.3% of every payment made by AI agents across all n...