Crypto exchange Coinbase is testing AI agents that appear in internal communication channels, enabling staff to consult them as virtual leaders and strategic planning tools.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on X that the company is developing AI agents that integrate into Slack and email and operate as human-like teammates.
According to a screenshot shared by Armstrong, the two AI agents — named “Fred” and “Balaji” — are modeled after former executives Fred Ehrsam and Balaji Srinivasan.
“Fred” is designed as a strategic executive agent, offering high-level feedback and assisting staff in refining documents, strategies, and concepts. “Balaji” is positioned as an “agent of chaos and creativity,” helping employees with long-term projects.
“Soon, it will be easy for any employee to spin up a new agent for themselves or their team,” said Armstrong. “I suspect we will have more agents than human employees at some point soon.”
Ehrsam, a co-founder of Paradigm, previously served as Coinbase’s president from 2012 to 2017. Srinivasan was a former chief technology officer at Coinbase, known for his contributions to promoting crypto technologies and involvement in initiatives such as Coinbase Earn.
Next steps
Armstrong also noted that these tools will be developed beyond being just replicas of real individuals.
“I think these employee agents should have their own name actually. Not a ‘digital twin’ of someone else.” Armstrong wrote in a different post on X. “So that is next step.”
The Block has reached out to Coinbase for further information.
Coinbase has been actively expanding into AI. In February, the company rolled out “Agentic Wallets,” enabling AI agents to hold funds independently, send payments, trade tokens, earn yield, and execute onchain transactions.
The agentic wallet aligns with Coinbase’s x402 protocol, which is being developed to enable autonomous crypto payments without human intervention.
© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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