The end of ads: Coinbase engineer says AI agents could kill the internet’s favorite business model

Erik Reppel, who created the x402 protocol, said that the web economy depends heavily on advertising revenue generated from humans. AI agents bypass that system entirely. What to know : Coinbase Developer Platform head Erik Reppel said at Consensus Miami 2026 that AI agents could disrupt the internet’s ad-based business model because autonomous software ignores online ads entirely. Reppel argued that crypto-powered micropayments and Coinbase-backed x402 could help create a new “internet-native” payment system where AI agents automatically pay for content, APIs and digital services.