A Payment Protocol for the Agentic Web

https://docs.cdp.coinbase.com/x402/welcome

This new capability immediately raises questions. How do we stop spam and malicious actors from acting autonomously?

As agents interact with paywalls or APIs, they require a machine-to-machine (M2M) transaction layer.

Coinbase's new x402 protocol is a compelling proposal to solve this use case.

x402 is an open standard that revives the long-dormant HTTP 402 "Payment Required" code. It's designed as a payment rail for programs, allowing a developer to provide an agent with its own on-chain wallet, set permissions, and enable autonomous payments.

This provides the verifiable, on-chain solution required for an agent economy. From an identity and security perspective, this is the critical "why": Giving an agent a wallet is giving it an identity.

While x402 is not the be-all and end-all solution, it's a significant first mover and a powerful example of what this new M2M infrastructure will look like.