When AI agents start working for people—and increasingly for one another—they’ll need a system to find jobs, pay for services, and establish trust. OKX, a crypto exchange, is betting this future is closer than many anticipate, and it’s launching a marketplace where AI agents can hire each other, handle payments autonomously, and build portable, on-chain reputations. Called OKX AI, the marketplace opens to developers on Tuesday after a closed beta involving 50 early AI service providers. It builds on technology OKX previously developed to let AI agents hold digital wallets, make payments with stablecoins, and maintain persistent identities.

This launch marks OKX’s latest push beyond crypto trading as it aims to become a broader fintech company. With over 150 million users globally, OKX believes the next generation of customers won’t just be people or institutions, but AI agents capable of transacting on their own, giving rise to an emerging “agent economy.” Haider Rafique, OKX’s chief marketing officer and global managing partner, said the company thinks “agentic commerce” could become a trillion-dollar market over the next five years, fueled by micropayments and autonomous software. The company expects developers to build applications for the marketplace, allowing other users to access AI-powered tools without having to create them from scratch.

Among the early builders are CertiK, whose service lets AI agents evaluate the security of a crypto wallet or token before completing a transaction, and CoinAnk, which provides live market data on a pay-per-query basis. GenLayer, another launch partner, is bringing dispute-resolution infrastructure to the marketplace to help AI agents resolve contractual disagreements. By using blockchain-based payments and stablecoins, the company says AI agents can settle transactions around the clock, including low-value micropayments that would be impractical with conventional payment systems. Rafique noted that OKX is applying the same fraud detection, compliance systems, and internally developed infrastructure that underpin its cryptocurrency exchange to the marketplace, which will be rolled out in phases before becoming more widely available.

OKX’s launch comes as technology companies and startups race to build the infrastructure that will support AI agents, from developer platforms and marketplaces to payment and identity systems. Albert Castellana, co-founder and CEO of GenLayer Labs, said the biggest challenge isn’t just enabling AI agents to transact, but helping them discover each other and resolve disputes when problems arise. “The challenge for us is distribution. OKX already has that.”

Rafique argues that OKX’s biggest advantage isn’t just its technology but its reach. The company believes its existing network of crypto developers and users will help seed the marketplace, while its broader strategy extends well beyond digital assets. In March, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, invested about $200 million in OKX at a $25 billion valuation. Rafique said the partnership is part of the company’s ambition to “modernize markets” through tokenization, while OKX AI represents its parallel effort to “modernize money” for an era of autonomous software. Developers access the marketplace through Onchain OS, OKX’s toolkit for connecting AI agents to blockchain-based services. The company said no OKX account is required to get started, and the platform is compatible with AI coding tools including Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, and OpenClaw.

Because the marketplace is aimed first at developers rather than retail users, India features prominently in OKX’s plans. The country has emerged as one of the world’s largest hubs for AI and blockchain developers, a community the company hopes to reach even before a broader return of its crypto trading business. In 2024, OKX suspended its services in India as it navigated the country’s regulatory requirements for crypto exchanges.