AI Gets the Keys to the Wallet: MoonPay’s PayBox Brings Autonomous Payments to Claude and ChatGPT

AI Gets the Keys to the Wallet

MoonPay has launched PayBox, expanding the capabilities of artificial intelligence systems in a fundamental way: the platform transforms Claude and ChatGPT into financial actors capable of autonomously managing transactions. Where these systems previously could research investments, compare flight prices, and recommend purchases—but stopped short of actually executing them—PayBox closes that gap entirely, enabling AI agents to move money directly based on user authorization.

The mechanics are elegant. Users describe their financial goal to the chatbot. The AI structures an appropriate transaction. The user validates the action through a passkey (a secure authentication method comparable to Face ID). The transaction then executes immediately. This workflow preserves human oversight while eliminating the manual friction of opening payment apps, entering credentials, and navigating checkout flows.

Cryptography Prevents Autonomous Control

Allowing AI systems to manage money requires extraordinary security measures. PayBox achieves this through technology MoonPay acquired when it purchased Sodot, an Israeli key management specialist, for approximately $100 million in April through an all-stock arrangement. The critical innovation: MPC (multi-party computation) and TEE (trusted execution environment) cryptography ensure that no single party—not MoonPay, not the AI, not even the service itself—can independently access user funds or authorize transactions. Sodot’s infrastructure already secures over $50 billion in assets, providing proven security foundations for this new capability.

Functionality Spans Payments and DeFi

At launch, PayBox supports practical applications including restaurant reservations, flight bookings, and shopping across major e-commerce platforms. For cryptocurrency-focused users, the platform enables token swaps, cross-chain fund bridges, and direct deposits to decentralized finance protocols like Aave.

Blockchain support includes Solana and seven Ethereum-compatible networks: Ethereum, Hyperliquid, Tempo, Base, Robinhood Chain, Arbitrum, and Polygon. The platform integrates with x402, an open payment protocol originally created by Coinbase and transferred to the Linux Foundation. This standard carries backing from major financial and technology firms—Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Shopify, AWS, and Anthropic—enabling PayBox to facilitate agent-initiated payments with any x402-compatible service.

MoonPay has progressed methodically toward this capability throughout 2026. March brought an open wallet standard for AI agents, endorsed by PayPal, the Ethereum Foundation, and the Solana Foundation. May delivered in-ChatGPT crypto purchasing (requiring users to complete checkout manually). June launched a desktop application directly linking Claude and Codex to cryptocurrency wallets. PayBox represents the culmination of this progression.

MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright framed the significance directly: “Billions of AI agents are coming online, and every one of them will need to hold, move, and spend money safely.” The emergence of economically active AI systems necessitates financial infrastructure designed for their operational patterns, positioning PayBox as foundational infrastructure supporting crypto’s evolution into AI-native economies.

Source: MoonPay, via Decrypt. Not financial advice.