Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services are among the founding members of the newly launched x402 Foundation. This initiative, led by the Linux Foundation, aims to govern and standardize the x402 protocol for agentic AI payments on both crypto and fiat platforms. The foundation was established on Thursday with the help of Coinbase, creators of the x402 protocol. Other founding members include American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Cloudflare, Shopify, Stripe, Circle, Base, Polygon Labs, Solana Foundation, Thirdweb, and KakaoPay.
Jim Zemlin, CEO of the Linux Foundation, emphasized that the internet thrives on open protocols, advocating for an open-source structure for the x402 protocol. Launching under the Linux Foundation provides a neutral, nonprofit home, potentially attracting broader support from tech firms and developers.
The move reflects industry expectations that AI agents will soon surpass humans in online transactions. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong echoed this sentiment, predicting billions of AI agents transacting on blockchain in the coming years. The x402 protocol uses HTTP 402 'Payment Required' status and Ethereum Improvement Proposal 3009 to enable automated fund transfers without manual approval.
Transaction activity for the x402 protocol peaked at 13.7 million in November last year but has since declined sharply, falling between 29,000 and 1.1 million weekly transactions.
