AI agents bought coffee and merchandise from real merchants in Abu Dhabi without a card or checkout, as part of a build day hosted by @XDCNetwork that tested autonomous payments using the $US
AI agents bought coffee and merchandise from real merchants in Abu Dhabi without a card or checkout, as part of a build day hosted by @XDCNetwork that tested autonomous payments using the $USDC stablecoin.
The event, called "Unsupervised," took place at Hub71, Abu Dhabi's tech ecosystem, in partnership with the Middle East Stablecoin Association (MESA). Khaleej Times reported that more than 200 developers, founders and technology enthusiasts took part, and that agent-driven transactions exceeded $1,000 by the end of the day.
Attendees set up agent wallets on @XDC_SI, XDC Network's AI payments platform, and received $USDC credits to spend. According to a press release published by Zawya, participants built their agents using Replit and linked them to XDC AI, a marketplace where agents can pay for goods and services. Each agent had its own digital wallet, and every payment was recorded on XDC Network.
The agents spent the credits on coffee and merchandise from real merchants, and on services offered by other agents. A relayer paid the network fees, so the agents only handled USDC and did not need to hold the network's native token. The press release said XDC Network covered all transaction fees so agents could pay without holding any other tokens. It also described the total as significant given that each payment cost a fraction of a cent.
Jeremy Noori, Head of Structured Products at XDC Network, said in the release that agents could already search, compare and recommend, but had not been able to pay. He said the event closed that gap.
The event also included discussion of how to supervise machine-led payments. Khaleej Times reported that a panel with representatives from XDC Network and MESA examined how banks, stablecoin issuers and regulators could oversee agent-to-agent payments while keeping appropriate safeguards in place. The opening panel, titled "Agents that pay," included Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, Chairman and Founder of MESA, and Ramy Soliman, MESA Co-chair, alongside XDC Network executives, according to the release.
The venue was also relevant. Khaleej Times noted that Hub71 operates within Abu Dhabi Global Market, a financial centre that has positioned itself as a regional hub for digital asset activity through its regulatory framework.
The test was small in value and run with credits rather than attendees' own funds, so it is a demonstration rather than evidence of commercial scale. It does show how stablecoin payments, fee sponsorship and agent marketplaces can be combined so that software can pay for goods and services with limited human input.
Khaleej Times: AI agents start spending real money, signalling new commerce shift
Zawya: AI agents go shopping in Abu Dhabi as XDC Network turns agentic protocol
