PayPal and Google team up to bring AI-powered shopping and payments

Following the MCP and A2A protocols, the AI Agent market has seen another blockbuster arrival: the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), developed by Google. This will clearly further enhance AI Agents' autonomous multi-tasking capabilities, but the unfortunate reality is that it has little to do with web3AI. Let's take a closer look: What problem does AP2 solve? Simply put, the MCP protocol is like a universal hook, enabling AI agents to connect to various external tools and data sources; A2A is a team collaboration communication protocol that allows multiple AI agents to cooperate with each other to complete complex tasks; AP2 completes the last piece of the puzzle - payment capability. In other words, MCP opens up connectivity, A2A promotes collaboration efficiency, and AP2 achieves value exchange. The arrival of AP2 truly injects "soul" into the autonomous collaboration and task execution of Multi-Agents. Imagine AI Agents connecting Qunar, Meituan, and Didi to complete the booking of flights, hotels, and car rentals, but then getting stuck at the point of "self-payment." What's the point of all that multitasking? So, remember this: AP2 is an extension of MCP+A2A, solving the last mile problem of AI Agent automated execution. What are the technical highlights of AP2? The core innovation of AP2 is the Mandates mechanism, which is divided into real-time authorization mode and delegated authorization mode. Real-time authorization is easy to understand. The AI Agent finds the product and shows it to you. The operation can only be performed after the user signs. Delegated authorization requires the user to set rules in advance, such as only buying the iPhone 17 when the price drops to 5,000. The AI Agent monitors the trigger conditions and executes automatically. The implementation logic is cryptographically signed using Verifiable Credentials (VCs). Users can set complex commission conditions, including price ranges, time limits, and payment method priorities, forming a tamper-proof digital contract. Once signed, the AI Agent executes according to the conditions, with VCs ensuring auditability and security at every step. Of particular note is the "A2A x402" extension, a technical component developed by Google specifically for crypto payments, developed in collaboration with Coinbase and the Ethereum Foundation. This extension enables AI Agents to seamlessly process stablecoins, ETH, and other blockchain assets, supporting native payment scenarios within the Web3 ecosystem. What kind of imagination space can AP2 bring? After analyzing the technical principles, do you think that's it? Yes, in fact, the AP2 is boring when it is disassembled alone. Its real charm lies in connecting and opening up the "MCP+A2A+AP2" technology stack, completely opening up the complete link of AI Agent's autonomous analysis+execution+payment. From now on, AI Agents can open up many application scenarios. For example, AI Agents for stock investment and financial management can help us monitor the market 24/7 and conduct independent transactions. Enterprise procurement AI Agents can automatically replenish and renew without human intervention. AP2's complementary payment capabilities will further expand the penetration of the Agent-to-Agent economy into more scenarios. Google obviously understands that after the technical framework is established, the ecological implementation must be relied upon, so it has brought in more than 60 partners to develop it, almost covering the entire payment and business ecosystem. Interestingly, it also involves major Crypto players such as Ethereum, Coinbase, MetaMask, and Sui. Combined with the current trend of currency and stock integration, the imagination space has been doubled. Is web3 AI really dead? Not entirely. Google's AP2 looks complete, but it only achieves technical compatibility with Crypto payments. It can only be regarded as an extension of the traditional authorization framework and belongs to the category of automated execution. There is a "paradigm" difference between it and the autonomous asset management pursued by pure Crypto native solutions. The Crypto-native solutions under exploration are taking the "decentralized custody + on-chain verification" route, including AI Agent autonomous asset management, AI Agent autonomous transactions (DeFAI), AI Agent digital identity and on-chain reputation system (ERC-8004...), AI Agent on-chain governance DAO framework, AI Agent NPC and digital avatars, and many other interesting and fun directions. Ultimately, once users get used to AI Agent payments in traditional fields, their acceptance of AI Agents autonomously owning digital assets will also increase. And for those scenarios that AP2 cannot reach, such as anonymous transactions, censorship-resistant payments, and decentralized asset management, there will always be a time for crypto-native solutions to show their strength? The two are more likely to be complementary rather than competitive, but to be honest, the key technological advancements behind AI Agents currently all come from web2AI, and web3AI still needs to keep up the good work!

The US SEC on Wednesday approved new listing rules for major exchanges, paving the way for a surge of crypto spot exchange-traded funds. On Wednesday, the regulator voted to let Nasdaq, Cboe BZX and NYSE Arca adopt generic listing standards for commodity-based trust shares. The decision clears the final hurdle for asset managers seeking to launch spot ETFs tied to cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ether. In July, the SEC outlined how exchanges could bring new products to market under the framework. Asset managers and exchanges must now meet specific criteria, but will no longer need to undergo drawn-out case-by-case reviews. Solana And XRP Funds Seen to Be First In Line Under the new system, the time from filing to launch can shrink to as little as 75 days, compared with up to 240 days or more under the old rules. “This is the crypto ETP framework we’ve been waiting for,” Bloomberg research analyst James Seyffart said on X, predicting a wave of new products in the coming months. The first filings likely to benefit are those tracking Solana and XRP, both of which have sat in limbo for more than a year. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the approval reflects a commitment to reduce barriers and foster innovation while maintaining investor protections. The move comes under the administration of President Donald Trump, which has signaled strong support for digital assets after years of hesitation during the Biden era. New Standards Replace Lengthy Reviews And Repeated Denials Until now, the commission reviewed each application separately, requiring one filing from the exchange and another from the asset manager. This dual process often dragged on for months and led to repeated denials. Even Bitcoin spot ETFs, finally approved in Jan. 2024, arrived only after years of resistance and a legal battle with Grayscale. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the streamlined rules could apply to any cryptocurrency with at least six months of futures trading on the Coinbase Derivatives Exchange. That means more than a dozen tokens may now qualify for listing, potentially unleashing a new wave of altcoin ETFs. SEC Clears Grayscale Large Cap Fund Tracking CoinDesk 5 Index The SEC also approved the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund, which tracks the CoinDesk 5 Index, including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana and Cardano. Alongside this, it cleared the launch of options linked to the Cboe Bitcoin US ETF Index and its mini contract, broadening the set of crypto-linked derivatives on regulated US markets. Analysts say the shift shows how far US policy has moved. Where once regulators resisted digital assets, the latest changes show a growing willingness to bring them into the mainstream financial system under established safeguards

The post CME Unleashing XRP Options After $16B Futures Rally Signals Strong Institutional Demand appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Institutional crypto activity is accelerating as CME gears up to launch XRP and solana options with daily expirations in October, adding to growing adoption in the futures market. XRP Options Set to Launch on CME in October With Daily Expirations CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives marketplace, announced on Sept. 17 that it will introduce […] Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/cme-unleashing-xrp-options-after-16b-futures-rally-signals-strong-institutional-demand/