Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced on Thursday a strategic partnership with Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine known for delivering real-time, cited responses. The collaboration marks a major step in fusing AI with cryptocurrency, aiming to enhance user access to reliable market data and streamline crypto decision-making.
Real-Time Market Data Enters the AI Era
Starting immediately, Perplexity will begin sourcing market data directly from Coinbase, including insights from its proprietary COIN50 index. This information will power market analysis features within Perplexity’s newly launched Comet browser — a product aimed at rivaling Google in search innovation.
The second phase of the partnership, which Armstrong says is launching “soon,” will allow Perplexity to directly link user queries to Coinbase data. This move is set to create a seamless experience where crypto investors can receive AI-generated answers tied directly to live exchange metrics.
From Market Insights to AI-Driven Trading
While the initial rollout focuses on displaying prices and market trends, Armstrong envisions a future where AI agents can execute trades, rebalance portfolios, and manage staking and yield strategies — all through natural language prompts.
“LLMs should have crypto wallets,” Armstrong wrote in August 2024, foreshadowing Coinbase’s trajectory. Not long after, Coinbase facilitated its first crypto transaction entirely managed by AI bots.
Perplexity’s Rapid Rise and Strategic Position
Founded in August 2022 by former OpenAI researcher Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity has quickly positioned itself as a serious player in the AI space. With over $900 million raised — including a Series B round backed by Nvidia, Databricks, and NEA — the company was valued at $9 billion by the end of 2024.
Though Perplexity’s current user base remains undisclosed, Srinivas stated in a January 2024 interview with Bloomberg Technology that the platform had surpassed 10 million users. By comparison, OpenAI’s ChatGPT boasts over 800 million weekly active users.
Comet Browser Launch and Bigger Moves Ahead
The Coinbase-Perplexity partnership comes just one day after Perplexity unveiled its Comet browser, which integrates agentic AI tools designed to compete with search giants. In a bold signal of its ambitions, the company also submitted a bid earlier this year to merge with TikTok U.S.
As large language models redefine how users engage with the internet, this collaboration signals a new frontier: AI-powered, crypto-native user experiences that blend search, finance, and automation.
