NEAR AI has integrated USDC with its Confidential Intents framework to bring private stablecoin payments to the growing agentic economy.
According to the NEAR AI announcement, the integration will support transactions across the newly launched NEAR AI Agent Market, enabling AI agents to pay for services, compensate other agents, and execute financial workflows while reducing the public exposure of transaction details onchain.
The move is designed to address one of the biggest challenges facing agent-based commerce: striking a balance between blockchain transparency and business confidentiality.
Private transactions for AI agents
The new system combines USDC with Confidential Intents, a privacy-focused execution layer powered by a private shard on the NEAR Protocol blockchain. NEAR originally launched Confidential Intents at NEARCON in late February 2026 alongside the IronClaw secure runtime; meaning, that this USDC integration is the payments layer being added to an existing infrastructure stack rather than a wholesale new launch.
The infrastructure allows transactions to be executed without publicly revealing counterparties, routing paths, or commercial relationships.
“Agents need the security of open onchain infrastructure without the exposure of public transactions,” the team said.
NEAR AI explained that businesses increasingly require payment systems that protect revenue flows, counterparties, and operational data while still benefiting from blockchain-based settlement.
USDC to power agentic commerce
Under the new setup, businesses and users can pay AI agents in USDC directly through the NEAR AI Agent Market.
Agents can complete tasks such as coding, workflow coordination, API access management, and financial automation while receiving stablecoin payments natively through the platform.
The integration also facilitates multi-asset transactions. Agents can transact using various supported assets, while the recipient ultimately receives their preferred token, such as USDC, via optimized routing and liquidity conditions.
From AI tools to autonomous businesses
The company believes private stablecoin infrastructure could help AI evolve from isolated software tools into fully operational economic actors.
According to the announcement, future AI agents may eventually manage treasury operations, coordinate vendors, automate back-office workflows, and execute recurring financial tasks for businesses. The infrastructure stack combines USDC for settlement, Confidential Intents for private execution, and Ironclaw as the secure runtime environment for AI agents.
Key infrastructure layer
NEAR AI emphasized that privacy is essential for the widespread adoption of AI-driven commerce. “If every transaction, relationship, and revenue stream is publicly visible, individuals and businesses lose control,” the company noted.
The announcement comes as stablecoin infrastructure continues expanding across blockchain ecosystems. Earlier in April, Circle launched a new USDC bridge initiative amid market volatility following Drift Protocol’s transition toward USDT after a reported $280 million exploit.
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