x402 In-Depth Research Report: The Reconstruction of the Internet Payment Paradigm and Investment Insights
The x402 Protocol, jointly launched by Coinbase and Cloudflare in 2025, aims to establish a native payment layer for the internet by activating the HTTP 402 status code, which has remained dormant for three decades. Leveraging blockchain and stablecoins, the protocol enables low-cost, near-instant, chain-agnostic settlement—particularly well-suited for the high-frequency, automated micropayment scenarios of the AI agent economy. Compared with traditional payment systems, x402 stands out with its unique advantages of “payment-as-settlement", “HTTP-native integration", and “frictionless onboarding". With support from partners such as Visa, Google, and Anthropic, x402 has rapidly built a cross-sector ecosystem, while the participation of open-source communities continues to drive its scalability. Its potential lies in transforming internet business models from “advertising and subscriptions” to “instant value exchange", providing the foundational infrastructure for the emerging AI machine economy. The main risks lie in technical scalability, regulatory uncertainty, user adoption, and competitive substitution. Overall, x402 represents both a crucial missing piece in internet payments and a starting point for the reconstruction of future business paradigms. If x402 can overcome adoption and regulatory barriers, it has the potential to become the next-generation global payment model.
HTX Learn11/06 03:56
