Proof and Circle Show How AI Agents Can Prove Who They Act For and Pay in USDC
Key Highlights
- ➤Proof and Circle will demonstrate AI-agent identity verification and USDC payment at Money20/20.
- ➤Proof’s x401 protocol lets merchants request verified identity credentials from AI agents.
- ➤Circle’s x402 enables agents to pay merchants in USDC through Circle Agent Wallets.
- ➤Proof and Circle are exploring USDC payments to identity issuers for each verification.
- ➤Proof says its network covers more than 8,000 businesses and over $1 trillion in transactions.
Expert Statements
Pat Kinsel, Founder and chief executive officer, Proof
“AI agents can already pay. What a merchant still can't see is who stands behind the payment and whether that person approved it. Our demo with Circle shows one exchange can answer both questions: verified identity from Proof and payment in USDC. That gives businesses a reason to say yes to agents instead of blocking them.”
Gagan Mac, VP Product, Circle
“Agents that can pay also need a way to show who they act for. At Money20/20, we're demonstrating what that might look like with Proof: a verified credential and a USDC payment in the same flow. Identity and payments are closely linked in the agentic economy, and we're continuing to explore how they come together so businesses can trust the transactions agents make.”
* Teams from the companies are collaborating on how open identity and payment protocols can work together so businesses can trust transactions made by agents. * At Money20/20, teams from Proof and Circle will demonstrate a demo of an AI agent presenting a verified Proof credential over x401 and paying in USDC over x402 from a Circle Agent Wallet. BOSTON, Oct. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Proof and Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) today announced a collaboration showing how verified legal identity and machine-native payments can work together in agent transactions. At Money20/20, teams from the companies will demonstrate a demo of an AI agent completing an identity-gated purchase where the agent presents a verified Proof credential using x401, Proof's open identity protocol, and pays the merchant in USDC over x402 using a Circle Agent Wallet.
AI agents can already find services, place orders and pay. The business on the other side still can't reliably tell who sent the agent or whether that person approved the transaction. Without that, the only safe choices are to block agents or let them through blind.
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