OKX launches agent payments protocol for full AI-driven transactions
Crypto exchange OKX has launched an open protocol designed to let AI agents carry out full business transactions, extending machine payments into end-to-end commercial activity.OKX has launched an open Agent Payments Protocol designed to let AI agents handle full business transactions, including quoting, escrow, and settlement.The exchange said existing agentic payment systems do not support complete transaction cycles, with escrow and dispute resolution features still under development. According to OKX, the Agent Payments Protocol enables AI systems to handle not only payments but also quoting, negotiating, escrow, usage tracking, settlement, and dispute handling within a single framework. “In the past few months, AI agents moved from answering questions to running workflows, managing business processes, and acting autonomously on behalf of users,” OKX stated, adding that “the bottleneck shifted from intelligence to commerce, not just paying, but the full cycle of doing business.” Protocol expands scope beyond machine payments OKX said existing systems, such as x402, focus mainly on enabling transactions between machines, while APP is designed to support the entire lifecycle of commercial interactions. “Existing agentic payment solutions handle none of this,” OKX said, referring to processes such as escrow and dispute resolution, which the company plans to roll out in upcoming updates. The protocol has