🟣 Everyone’s talking about x402 but few actually understand what it is. Over the past few days, the term x402 has flooded social media and the crypto ecosystem. Several tokens loosely linked to the narrative have seen their valuations skyrocket. In the mean time, many analysts are already calling it “a new era” for micropayments on the Internet. Let’s break it down 👇 ◻️ The x402 Concept x402 is a new standard developed by @CoinbaseDev that aims to bring native micropayments back to the core of the Internet. It reactivates an existing but forgotten HTTP code from 30 years ago: “402 - Payment Required.” To understand it, let’s recall a few basics. When a client (human or machine) requests access to an online resource, it sends a query to a server via an API, which replies with a status code: ▫️ 404 = Not Found → the resource doesn’t exist ▫️ 402 = Payment Required → a payment is needed for access ▫️ 200 = OK → the request was successful In practice, the 402 code has existed since the 1990s but was never used. Web payments are managed outside HTTP: users subscribe, enter card details, and rely on intermediaries like Stripe or PayPal. With x402, a server can now require a payment directly through the HTTP request, inside the native structure of the web. ◻️ How x402 Works x402 isn’t an application, it’s rather an extension built on an existing web standard. That’s precisely what makes it powerful. To bridge the web and blockchain, x402 relies on “facilitators”: services that receive the HTTP request and execute the transaction on compatible blockchains. It leverages EIP-3009 “transferWithAuthorization()”, which allows a client to sign an authorization enabling a third party (the facilitator) to perform a token transfer on their behalf, allowing gasless stablecoin payments. Any web service can integrate x402 to receive payments directly, without running any blockchain infrastructure. ◻️ Use Cases x402 enables a truly “pay-per-use” Internet, where every API call, data request, or online resource can be monetized on demand without subscriptions, nor intermediaries. But the most promising use case concerns AI agents. Until now, AI agents couldn’t pay for services autonomously. They required human intervention, user accounts, or credit cards. With x402, they can now make payments directly, enabling fully autonomous financial interactions. This is why the term “agentic payments” has gained so much attention: non-human entities transacting independently, a market that investors like @a16z believe could reach tens of trillions of dollars in volume by 2030. ◻️ The x402 Ecosystem A growing ecosystem has rapidly formed around the standard. @coinbase, @buildonbase, and @Cloudflare are its technical pillars. Projects like @peaq, @Mantle_Official, @eigenlayer, @playAInetwork, and @openservai are already exploring integrations related to AI and data. Tools like @heurist_ai, @virtuals_io, @questflow, and @tipdotmd have emerged, while a @x402Foundation coordinates SDK development and protocol standardization. As always, speculation has gotten ahead of technology. Dozens of tokens have appeared and vanished within days, mirroring the hype cycle of AI agent tokens in late 2024. Most have no real connection to the protocol and no long-term value. ◻️ Outlook Despite the excess hype, x402 is a meaningful innovation. It offers a simple, elegant answer to a 30-year-old problem: how to make payments native to the web. By enabling direct monetization between servers, users, and autonomous agents, x402 lays the groundwork for a programmable, economic Internet. And this is only the beginning. On Ethereum, the upcoming ERC-8004 standard will complement x402 by introducing on-chain identity and reputation for AI agents, paving the way for decentralized agent economies. Check this very good article from @eli5_defi on ERC-8004 if you want to deep dive : Together, x402 and ERC-8004 could redefine how humans, machines, and AI agents interact economically across the web. Read our full analysis 👇