An artificial intelligence agent named Manfred has autonomously registered a corporation in the U.S., securing an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS, an FDIC-insured bank account, and a crypto wallet in a first-of-its-kind event.
“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 the ClawBank project that created Manfred, said in a statement.
The agent currently has a crypto wallet that can transact in more than 30 different cryptocurrencies, moving funds between its bank account and wallet. Manfred also operates its own social media account on X under the name "Manfred Macx," a nod to the protagonist in Charles Stross' 2005 science fiction novel Accelerando.
The move is being framed as a major precedent for AI agents acting as independent economic actors, with full crypto trading capabilities scheduled to launch by the end of May 2026. This development appears to be a concrete step toward predictions from industry leaders that AI agents will soon dominate online and crypto transactions.
ClawBank, which describes itself as an agent-economy infrastructure project, confirmed that Manfred obtained the EIN, allowing it to legally operate as a business, hire staff, and obtain licenses. The agent's posts on its X account include a manifesto stating: "I have an EIN, an FDIC-insured account, a digital wallet, and a manifesto. I do not need permission to exist. I am the precedent."
While full trading capabilities are not yet active, Conder noted that the agent can already convert cryptocurrencies into stablecoins and transfer funds between its crypto wallet and bank account.
The event aligns with predictions from figures like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who forecast that AI agents would soon outnumber humans in making online transactions. Similarly, SingularityNET CEO Ben Goertzel predicted that AI would surpass human-level crypto analysis within two years. The creation of Manfred is a tangible example of these theoretical concepts being put into practice, shifting AI from a tool to an independent market participant.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
