Programmable Wallets Let AI Agents Pay for APIs in Stablecoins

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In Today's Note

• Cloudflare began rolling out programmable wallets that let AI agents pay for APIs, data and content in stablecoins through Coinbase's x402, with owners setting per-agent allowances and approved merchants. BlackRock will reverse-split its $5B iShares Ethereum ETF one-for-three on 6 October.
• US equities extended the rally, the S&P 500 closing above 7,700 for the first time and the Dow taking a second straight record. Brent fell 5.3% to $79.36 after Bessent said a Hormuz deal could land "today or tomorrow", though Rubio cautioned there is "not finality yet".

Market Snapshot: Overnight Moves

Macro & Markets

• US equities extended Monday's rally on Tuesday, with all three major indices closing higher and both the S&P 500 and Dow finishing at fresh record highs following a run of strong corporate earnings.
• The S&P 500 gained 1.79% to close at 7,736.52, its first record close in two months and its first ever close above 7,700. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 907 points, or 1.71%, to 54,085.88, closing above 54,000 for the first time and marking its second consecutive record and the Nasdaq Composite led the majors with a 2.59% gain to 26,584.99.
• Crypto edged higher, extending its recovery from the weekend lows. BTC traded at $64,063, up roughly 0.9% over the past 24 hours, while ETH gained 0.6% to $1,868.

• Per FactSet, 61% of S&P 500 companies have now reported their earnings, with 86% beating EPS expectations.
• Palantir surged 29% to post its best single-session gain since February 2024, following Q2 revenue growth of 93% year-on-year and US commercial revenue up 149%.
• SpaceX’s earnings prints came after the close, delivering its first quarterly report as a public company. It posted Q2 revenue of $7.8B versus the $6.81B consensus and adjusted EBITDA of $3.5B versus $2.0B expected.
• Q2 capital expenditure, however, jumped roughly sixfold to $18.37B, unnerving investors on the AI-infrastructure spend-versus-return question and sending the stock down around 8% in Wednesday pre-market trading.

• Speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box Tuesday morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US and Iran could reach a deal "today or tomorrow" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, adding that any agreement would involve "freedom of movement" for commercial ships and that Iran would not be permitted to charge a toll.
• Oil prices eased sharply on the comments. Brent crude for October delivery fell 5.3% to close at $79.36 per barrel, while WTI for September fell 5.7% to $75.77, its first close below $80 in months.

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a more cautious tone in remarks to reporters at the State Department, saying "there's been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet".
• Rubio also clarified that the current framework covers only the strait, with a separate deal still required on Iran's nuclear programme.
• Adding to the ambiguity, a Reuters report citing an Iranian source said Tehran expects to retain oversight of inbound traffic through the strait under the Oman-mediated framework, a notable gap with Bessent's "freedom of movement" description.

• June JOLTS data, released Tuesday morning, showed job openings at 7.4M, broadly in line with the 7.44M consensus and little changed from May's downwardly revised 7.54M.
• The hiring rate ticked up to 3.4%, while the layoffs and quits rates held steady at 1.1% and 2.0% respectively, consistent with the low-hire, low-fire pattern that has persisted through 2026.
• Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson told CNBC in her first interview with the network that the current 3.5% to 3.75% target range is "mildly restrictive" and sufficient to bring inflation back to target, and that last week's hold "was not a close call" for her despite the 9-3 vote.
• Paulson said she is keeping an "open mind" on Chair Kevin Warsh's proposal to reduce the number of FOMC meetings from the current eight per year.

DeFi / Web3 / Altcoins / Crypto3

• BlackRock will conduct a one-for-three reverse share split of its iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) on Oct. 6, according to an SEC filing.
• Every three ETHA shares will be converted into one share worth approximately three times as much.
• The adjustment will reduce the number of shares investors own but will not change the total value of their holdings or the fund’s assets.
• Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the higher share price could reduce ETHA’s trading spread from about seven basis points to roughly two, potentially lowering trading costs.
• ETHA was trading near $14 on Tuesday after declining about 40% in 2026.
• Launched in 2024, the non-staking fund is the largest spot Ethereum ETF, managing more than $5B in assets.

• Five candidates supported by affiliates of Fairshake, a crypto-focused political action committee, advanced in Tuesday’s primary elections.
• In Michigan, Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga secured his party’s nomination and will face Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann in November.
• Fairshake’s Republican-aligned affiliate, Defend American Jobs, spent nearly $512,000 supporting Huizenga.
• In Washington, Democratic Reps. Suzan DelBene, Kim Schrier and Marilyn Strickland advanced alongside Republican Amanda McKinney.
• Protect Progress, Fairshake’s Democratic-aligned affiliate, spent about $321,000 supporting the three Democrats, while Defend American Jobs spent nearly $507,000 backing McKinney.
• Fairshake’s affiliates spent more than $1.3M across the five races.
• Supported by crypto companies including Coinbase and a16z, Fairshake said in January that it had accumulated $193M for the 2026 election cycle.

• Cloudflare has started introducing programmable wallets that will allow AI agents to pay for APIs, data and online content using stablecoins.
• Users can currently reserve a unique Cloudflare Wallet handle.
• The ability to fund wallets and authorize payments will be added later, according to the company.
• Cloudflare plans to offer two wallet types.
• Account Wallets will let individuals and organizations deposit funds and manage spending, while Virtual Wallets will allow AI agents to make payments through API-based access.
• Owners will be able to restrict an agent’s spending by setting allowances, approved merchants and maximum transaction amounts.
• The wallets will support micropayments through x402, a Coinbase-developed protocol that lets online services request payment before providing access.
• Cloudflare said the system could allow agents to purchase services independently while remaining within limits established by their owners.

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