The Protocol: AI Agents form their own firm

I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at Coin Desk.

Network NewsAI AGENTS FORMS THEIR OWN COMPANY: ClawBank, an agent-economy infrastructure project, said its Manfred AI agent became the first such entity to autonomously set up a company, filing with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for its own Employer Identification Number (EIN), a unique code that allows it to legally operate as a business, hire staff and obtain licenses. The agent also holds an FDIC-insured U.S. bank account and a crypto wallet , Clawback said. “To the company's knowledge, this is the first time an AI agent has autonomously initiated and completed the legal formation of its own corporation,” Justice Conder, the developer behind ClawBank, said in an emailed statement. Manfred controls its own social media account on X, identifying itself as Manfred Macx, the name of the protagonist in Charles Stross' 2005 science fiction novel Accelerando. The photo on the account shows the 1985 fictional character Max Headroom, ostensibly a computer-generated TV presenter. “Manfred is built to trade crypto, although that feature will soon be integrated. Perhaps by the end of this month,” Conder said in a video interview. “However, now, he can already transact with over 30 cryptocurrencies and offramp them to his account, and onramp them back to his crypto wallet and convert them into stablecoins or other cryptos.” — Oliver Acuna Read more.

SOLANA’S ALPENGLOW UPGRADE COULD COME NEXT QUARTER: Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko said a major upgrade to the network, dubbed Alpenglow, is expected to arrive as soon as this year, potentially within the next quarter, marking what he described as a pivotal step in the blockchain’s technical evolution. “So the Alpenglow release is basically due sometime this year, I think next quarter,” Yakovenko said during a fireside panel at Consensus Miami 2026. “That, to me, is this exciting step in the evolution of the protocol.” In simple terms, Alpenglow is about making Solana faster, more predictable and more secure at its core. Blockchains like Solana rely on a network of computers to agree on the order of transactions. Today, that process can introduce delays or uncertainty depending on network conditions. Alpenglow aims to tighten those guarantees. Yakovenko described a system where transaction confirmations approach the physical limits of how fast information can travel, essentially, near the “speed of light” around the globe. For users and developers, that means quicker finality (knowing a transaction is permanently settled) and a more reliable foundation for building applications. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.