MetaMask Debuts AI Agent Wallet as Copper Tops $6.63, Yuga Rescues 68 NFTs

Crypto News

MetaMask has rolled out Agent Wallet, a self-custodial wallet built for AI agents that can autonomously trade across DeFi protocols while keeping users in command of their funds and approvals. The product gives autonomous software access to swaps, perpetual futures, prediction markets and liquidity provisioning across Ethereum-compatible chains. Roughly 200 users currently have access through a limited early-access program, with a broader rollout planned for later this summer. The launch lands as developers increasingly build agents capable of managing portfolios and executing trades directly, and the company is positioning security as the wallet's central differentiator rather than raw automation speed.

Every transaction an agent initiates passes through transaction simulation, threat scanning and MEV protection before execution, with anything flagged as malicious requiring human sign-off via two-factor authentication. Transactions deemed safe are covered by a protection program offering up to $10,000 against losses. Users can choose between a default Guard Mode enforcing spending limits, protocol allowlists and approval requirements, or an opt-in Beast Mode that trims prompts while still gating risky actions. Executives stressed that large language models cannot be fully shielded from prompt injection, an unresolved research problem, so the design limits damage when agents err rather than assuming they never will.

Copper set a record near $6.63 per pound on June 2, propelled by the same AI data center buildout lifting chipmakers, before slipping to roughly $6.27, down about 6% from that all-time high. Options traders are leaning bullish, yet the chart, a strengthening dollar and physical-market hedgers all flash caution, leaving the near-term setup decidedly mixed. The demand narrative remains intact: the power delivery, cooling and busbars behind every facility are copper-intensive, binding the metal tightly to the broader AI trade. Analysts caution that a double-top pattern could cap further upside even as structural demand stays robust over the longer horizon.

The scale of consumption is striking. A single hyperscale AI facility can use up to 50,000 tons of copper, against 5,000 to 15,000 tons for a conventional data center. JPMorgan estimates data centers alone will require about 475,000 tons this year, a sharp jump from the prior year. That demand sits atop a structural shortfall, with S&P Global projecting a 10 million tonne deficit by 2040, equal to roughly a third of current global demand. Industry figures have likened copper to a new strategic resource, arguing markets are underpricing how central the metal is to the entire computing expansion now underway.

Yuga Labs-affiliated developers rescued 68 non-fungible tokens from Flooring Protocol after an exploit endangered assets from blue-chip collections including Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks. The bug inflated attacker balances, draining pools and putting the NFTs backing them at risk before the recovery secured more than $500,000 in assets. A pseudonymous blockchain executive at the company said the recovered tokens are now in custody and will be returned once a solution is finalized. Even amid a cooled market, some collections retain elevated floors, with CryptoPunks near 32.7 ETH and Bored Apes around 9.16 ETH.

The targeted protocol had already been unwinding parts of its consumer-facing NFT business, having told token holders in late 2025 to redeem assets and exit fractional positions amid liquidity strains and organizational upheaval. Former leadership said it had kept providing liquidity through automated market maker pools to help users exit, only for those assets to become a primary target during the breach. The broader market remains far below its peak: overall NFT capitalization climbed toward $2 billion in spring before retreating to about $1.4 billion. CryptoPunks and Bored Apes still rank as the two largest collections by total value.

A single thread runs through these stories: capital and infrastructure are reorganizing around artificial intelligence. MetaMask is hardening the rails for agents that will soon move real money on-chain, copper's record underscores the physical bottlenecks behind the AI compute race, and even the NFT sector's security scramble reflects a market maturing under tighter risk scrutiny. The dominant narrative this cycle is less about speculative mania and more about institutional-grade infrastructure being built to withstand it, from autonomous-agent guardrails to commodity supply chains. Whether in bull market euphoria or quieter consolidation, resilience is becoming the defining competitive edge.