- Coinbase’s x402 protocol enables AI agents to autonomously transact in real-time using stablecoins, transforming them from tools into economic actors.
- This breakthrough promises faster, more efficient payments and opens up new opportunities for AI-driven applications and services.
Coinbase has unveiled x402, a groundbreaking payments protocol that could redefine how artificial intelligence (AI) agents interact with the digital economy — not as tools, but as fully autonomous economic actors.
Announced on May 6, the x402 protocol enables real-time stablecoin payments over standard internet communication protocols like HTTP. The innovation revives the long-dormant HTTP 402 “Payment Required” status code, creating a native online payments layer designed for both humans and AI.
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Traditionally, online payments have been bottlenecked by outdated infrastructure — think credit cards, bank transfers, and subscription models. These systems are slow, expensive, and riddled with manual friction. Coinbase’s x402 promises to eliminate these inefficiencies by embedding seamless, programmable payments directly into the web itself.
“x402 is fixing the internet’s first mistake,” Coinbase declared, emphasizing how the protocol allows apps, APIs, and AI agents to move value as easily as data.
At the heart of x402 is the vision of AI agents achieving true economic independence. With this protocol, agents can provision resources, purchase data, and even transact with other agents — all without human oversight. This opens the door to dynamic use cases like real-time hardware provisioning, microservices payments, and API monetization based on exact usage rather than flat subscriptions.
“This is the groundwork for an economy run not just by people, but by software — autonomous, intelligent, and always on,” said Erik Reppel, head of engineering at Coinbase Developer Platform.
Coinbase is rolling out x402 with backing from major tech players including AWS, Circle, Anthropic, and Near Protocol. Circle’s VP of product management, Gagan Mac, highlighted the protocol’s potential to power real-time monetization for AI-driven applications and services.
In essence, x402 transforms AI agents from passive executors into proactive market participants — a shift that could spark a new wave of automation, innovation, and decentralized commerce.
