Coinbase Says AI Agents Are the Future Of Crypto. So Which Cryptocurrencies Should You Be Buying?

By Dominic Basulto – Apr 11, 2026 at 6:54AM ESTKey PointsBittensor is a Layer 1 blockchain for AI that has seen growing interest in projects for AI agents.Kite is a payment blockchain for AI agents, while Virtuals Protocol is a platform for creating AI agents.Investing in Coinbase could be a less-risky way to get exposure to the future of AI agents.Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently suggested that AI agents will change everything.

And Coinbase Global (COIN 0.72%) seems to agree. The company recently suggested that AI agents could be the future of crypto. With that in mind, which cryptos could benefit from the newfound investor appetite for AI agents? Here are three that are on my investment radar right now. Bittensor At the top of the list is Bittensor (TAO +2.36%), a decentralized blockchain protocol primarily used for the sharing and training of large language models (LLMs). It's essentially a Layer 1 blockchain for open-source, decentralized AI projects. Image source: Getty Images. As such, Bittensor is capable of hosting high-profile AI agent projects on its blockchain. The most well-known of these is MyShell, which boasts 6 million users and 265,000 AI agents created. For the year, Bittensor is up more than 45% and currently has a market cap of $3.5 billion, ranking it among the top 30 cryptocurrencies in the world in terms of size. Kite Second on my list is Kite (KITE +0.00%), which was purpose-built in 2025 for the brave new world of AI agents. It bills itself as "the first AI payment blockchain." For the year, Kite is up 69%, and currently has a market cap of almost $275 million. Importantly, Kite has attracted the attention of Coinbase, which invested in the company back in October via its VC arm. That's important because, unlike smaller AI cryptos, Kite now has a listing on Coinbase and is therefore much more accessible to the average crypto investor.

Virtuals Protocol Finally, there's Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL +0.04%), a platform for creating, owning, and monetizing AI agents. This was the hot new AI crypto when it first started trading back in 2024. In fact, for a brief period, Virtuals Protocol was the top-performing crypto in the world. ExpandCRYPTO: VIRTUALVirtuals ProtocolToday's Change(0.04%) $0.00Current Price$0.67Key Data PointsMarket Cap$442MDay's Range$0.67 - $0.6952wk Range$0.45 - $2.53Volume48M But since then, much of the hype has faded away. All you have to do is look at a chart for VIRTUAL, and you can see the classic crypto trading pattern: a huge, short-lived spike, followed by a massive decline, and then a series of ever-diminishing attempts to get back to previous trading levels. Despite these valiant efforts, VIRTUAL trades at a massive 87% discount to its all-time high from January 2025. Or should you just buy Coinbase? Those are all highly risky bets. A safer bet would simply be to find a company -- such as Coinbase -- that is doubling down on the AI agent investment thesis. For example, Coinbase recently experimented with giving AI agents their own crypto wallets, and has welcomed the idea of AI agents trading everything from tokenized equities to prediction market contracts on its crypto platform. Just keep in mind that investing in crypto can be volatile and highly speculative. That goes doubly for AI cryptos. There are no sure things here, so make sure you do your due diligence before investing in any of them.Read NextMar 24, 2026 •By Travis HoiumWhy Wall Street Is Wrong About Coinbase and Circle StockMar 20, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloBest Up-and-Coming Companies to Invest in for 2026Mar 18, 2026 •By Jack CaporalHow Are Banks, Card Networks, and Payment Processors Adapting to Stablecoins?Mar 15, 2026 •By Emma NewberyCoinbase Just Gained More Than 25% in a Month. Here's Why It's Still a BuyMar 13, 2026 •By Kristi WaterworthAlternatives to Investing in the Stock MarketApr 11, 2026 •By Neil Patel1 Reason to Buy and Hold Strategy Stock for the Next DecadeAbout the AuthorDominic Basulto is a contributing Motley Fool crypto analyst covering cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and crypto-related companies. Prior to The Motley Fool, Dominic was a technology and innovation journalist at The Washington Post and Fortune. He holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University and an MBA in finance from Yale School of Management.TMFCryptoDomX@dominicbasultoStocks MentionedCoinbase GlobalNASDAQ: COIN$167.85(-0.69%)-$1.17BittensorCRYPTO: TAO$266.15(+2.36%)+$6.13Virtuals ProtocolCRYPTO: VIRTUAL$0.67(+0.04%)+$0.00*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.