On March 23, 2026, Moonpay unveiled the Open Wallet Standard (OWS), a groundbreaking open-source framework aimed at addressing fragmentation within the agent economy. This innovative initiative enables artificial intelligence (AI) agents to securely hold value and execute transactions while safeguarding private keys from exposure. OWS has garnered support from over 15 influential organizations, including notable names such as the Ethereum Foundation, Solana Foundation, and PayPal. Developers and organizations can access the framework on platforms like GitHub, npm, and PyPI.
The standard fills a significant void in machine-to-machine commerce by introducing a unified encrypted vault compatible with eight distinct chain families, including well-known blockchains like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. OWS features policy-gated signing and local-first storage, which allow autonomous agents to function within predefined human spending limits. This ensures that the interactions among different agent frameworks remain fully compatible.
Moonpay, which currently serves a customer base of over 30 million across 180 countries and collaborates with more than 500 enterprise partners through its global payments network, positions itself as a pivotal player in this new economic landscape. The release follows the company’s recent integration of Ledger hardware signing into its agent stack, solidifying its status as a primary infrastructure provider for the emerging autonomous economy.
“The agent economy has payment rails. It didn’t have a wallet standard. We built one, open-sourced it, and now the full stack exists,” stated Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of Moonpay.
Inquiries about OWS reveal its primary purpose: providing a secure and universal method for AI agents to transact across multiple blockchains. The collaborative nature of the project is evident, with significant contributions from partners such as PayPal, Ripple, and OKX, alongside leading blockchain foundations.
Moreover, the OWS operates within a global jurisdiction, making it accessible for developers and organizations without restriction. One of the standout features of this standard is its robust protection for sensitive private key data, as keys are encrypted at rest and are never accessible to the AI agent or large language models (LLMs). This feature highlights the project’s commitment to security, essential in the evolving landscape of digital commerce.
