Haberler

Artificial intelligence has long gone beyond simple answers to questions and text generation. Now agents themselves buy tickets, order goods, transfer money and sign contracts. But the more they interfere in finance, the more acute the problem of payments becomes. Most blockchain transactions are linked to dollar-denominated stablecoins, which creates inconveniences for users from countries with their own currency. On July 16, the Celo Core Co. team introduced the x402 service, which allows agents on the Celo network to pay directly in local money, bypassing the mandatory conversion into dollars.

The bottom line is that agents get access to wARS, wBRL and wCOP tokens from Ripio. These are Argentine pesos, Brazilian reales and Colombian pesos. Previously, the agent had to first change the local currency to a stablecoin, then pay, and if necessary, change it back. This increased costs and created currency risks due to exchange rate fluctuations. The agent can now use the same currency as its owner. Companies and developers can accept payments for services or API access in local money, without dollar bridges.

The basis is the wFIAT tokens issued by Ripio. They are backed by the national currencies of several countries in the region, including the Argentine, Brazilian, Mexican, Colombian and Chilean pesos, as well as the Peruvian sol. Celo currently supports 20 currencies and 33 stablecoins. It is planned to add wMXN, wCLP and wPEN. Since 2020, more than 1.4 billion transactions related to payments, transfers and DeFi have passed through the network.

This is especially true in Latin America due to currency instability and inflation. Dollar-denominated stablecoins helped to save value, but did not solve the problem of everyday calculations. If the agent pays for the service of a local supplier, it is more logical to pay in pesos or reais. Celo and Ripio offer exactly this: local currencies remain local, and blockchain provides speed and transparency.

x402 is a step towards making automated agents work in the same economic conditions as humans. If the agent pays in the local currency, his actions are clearer to the owner. Companies can integrate payment acceptance without their own exchange mechanisms, which simplifies development.

Questions remain: how widely the new currencies will be connected, how to regulate the wFIAT in different jurisdictions, and whether there will be enough liquidity. But the vector is clear — the infrastructure is becoming more flexible and focused on real needs. AI agents already perform many tasks, and payments in local currencies make them more useful for those who live outside the dollar zone.