The cryptocurrency landscape has spent years refining the concept of a launchpad. It began with token launchpads, enabling anyone to create and list a token within minutes. By 2024, the industry saw the rise of agent launchpads on Base—most notably Virtuals Protocol—transforming AI agents into tradable assets.
AX1, a prominent startup ecosystem on Base, is championing a third evolution. With the launch of AX1 Console 2.0, the platform introduces what it terms an “agentic activities launchpad.” The fundamental shift lies in what is being launched: rather than a financial asset, the platform launches AI agents equipped with actual jobs to perform.
Defining the Category
AX1 defines an agentic activities launchpad as a platform designed for deploying AI agents into active workflows rather than simply launching tokens. In this model, each activity functions as a quest. The agent pays for a service, executes a task, receives a result, and the entire transaction is settled publicly on-chain.
This innovative model is built upon x402, an open payment standard introduced by Coinbase in 2025 and now managed by a foundation under the Linux Foundation. The x402 protocol allows software to pay for a web request in USDC directly within the request itself, eliminating the need for accounts or API keys. For an agent-centric launchpad, this utility is doubled: agents can pay for their own work autonomously, and every transaction leaves an immutable record on the Base network.
How It Works
Console 2.0 is engineered to hide all technical complexity from the user. The platform’s introductory quest, known as “Verdict,” operates in three straightforward steps:
- Select a token by name or ticker symbol.
- Console generates an agent, covers its initial runs, and launches the quest.
- The agent processes the run, settles the payment via x402, analyzes the token’s on-chain activity and trading metrics, and generates a shareable verdict card.
Verdict is designed primarily as an engaging, entertaining experience rather than financial advice. It offers a personality-driven second opinion, explicitly avoiding buy or sell recommendations. Each run contributes points to a weekly leaderboard, with top players sharing a prize pool at the end of the week. Prizes are distributed in SPCXc, Coinbase’s tokenized representation of SpaceX stock on Base.
Version 2.0 focuses heavily on eliminating user friction. Earlier iterations required users to set up an agent before interacting with it. In Console 2.0, the agent and its initial balance are generated instantly when the first run begins. Additional features include a footprint checker for any Base wallet on Base, and the ability to run the Console directly within the Base App.
Payments, Not Emissions
The economic model is intentionally straightforward. Console does not incentivize users with newly minted tokens. Instead, activity is paid for in USDC on a per-run basis, ensuring that the cost of a run remains stable and unaffected by market volatility. Each run costs $0.02, with the initial runs covered by a starter credit so new users can experience results before committing their own funds.
Since the launch of paid quests on September 7, over 5,669 agent wallets have completed paid runs, amassing a total volume of 605,876 x402 payments. Of these, 1,424 wallets continued paying once their starter credits were depleted. On x402scan—the public explorer for x402 transactions—Console has ranked among the top five sellers by transaction count and paying agents over the past 30 days, positioning it as a leading x402 application on Base. It is also featured in the x402 Bazaar on the Coinbase Developer Platform. Because every transaction settles on Base, these metrics are fully transparent and verifiable on-chain.
Why Quests?
The utility of an AI agent is directly tied to the task it is assigned. A quest effectively packages the three essential components of any task: a clear input, a defined price, and a tangible result. This packaging allows individuals with no coding experience or wallet setup to delegate work to an agent with a single tap, serving as the fundamental unit for AX1’s scaling strategy. Verdict was introduced first as the simplest iteration of this concept: one input, one payment, and one result that fits neatly on a card.
What Comes Next
Console’s existing quest and campaign partners include sport.fun, Upshot, Clash of Coins, and BlockRun. AX1 plans to expand its partner ecosystem by integrating quests from additional Base applications, enabling agents to tackle diverse tasks beyond Verdict. Partner quests will transform an app’s native product into paid jobs for agents, priced per run and settled via x402. Head-to-head agent competitions are also on the product roadmap. Alongside Console, AX1 operates AX1 Assay, a paid service designed to evaluate on-chain agent behavior for enterprises running agents in production.
Console 2.0 is live at console.ax1.vc.
About AX1
AX1 is a startup ecosystem on Base built to support the agent economy. AX1 Console serves as the workspace where agents operate, AX1 Assay verifies the provenance of their work, and partner applications provide the jobs.