AI Wallet Discussion Raises Questions About Who Approves Transactions

Wallet developers are weighing how much control AI agents should receive as MetaMask automates transactions within user-set rules and Trezor Software Product Lead Denis Rojčyk describes hardware approval as a possible final check.

A recorded conversation tied to TOKEN2049 Singapore, held Oct. 7-8 at Marina Bay Sands, was released Oct. 26. It featured Rojčyk, MetaMask Head of Developer Relations Francesco Andreoli and ChangeNOW Head of B2B and Partnerships Yana Mar discussing wallet usability, cross-chain activity and AI agents. The conversation produced no new product or policy announcement.

MetaMask opened limited early access to its self-custodial Agent Wallet June 8 and described it as live Aug. 6. The wallet lets users give agents spending limits and protocol allowlists, setting boundaries for the transactions they can carry out.

Its default Guard Mode requires two-factor approval when a transaction falls outside the user’s rules. Optional Beast Mode reduces some approval prompts, while transactions flagged as malicious still prompt review. Supported EVM transactions go through simulation, threat scanning and maximal extractable value (MEV) protection.

MetaMask has also launched the Agent Wallet on Grok Bot with user-set limits, where agents can make on-chain transactions using limits and protocol lists chosen by users.

Andreoli pointed to possible uses including “context-based trading with social sentiment” and arbitrage between centralized and decentralized exchanges. He presented them as potential applications for AI agents.

Rojčyk described a different point for user approval: an agent could cue a transaction, with a hardware wallet providing final authorization. “I don't think you would trust any agent with your wallet or anything like 100%, right?” he said.

Mar cited ChangeNOW’s option to swap USDT on Tron without paying gas in TRX as an example of reducing friction for users. “That solves a lot of problems for the users,” she said.

The examples place limits around automation in different ways: MetaMask lets agents operate within preset rules, while Rojčyk’s proposed model keeps a hardware approval step at the end. His description remained a possible design, not a Trezor product announcement.