The x402 Foundation brings AI proxy payments to the Web under the Linux Foundation

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The x402 Foundation has officially started operations under the Linux Foundation, bringing together payment companies, cloud service providers, technology companies and blockchain organizations to jointly oversee an open standard for Internet-native payments. The initiative aims to provide a common framework that allows software applications and AI agents to complete transactions directly on standard network infrastructure.

Coinbase has completed the handover of the x402 protocol to the Linux Foundation, placing its future development under community-led governance. Activity data published on the agreement's homepage shows that approximately 75 million payments have been processed in the past 30 days, with a total amount of nearly US$24 million, reflecting both early adoption and the gradual development of the network.

What does the x402 Foundation represent?

It aims to manage the x402 protocol through an open governance model supported by 40 member organizations. Foundation members cover areas such as payments, financial services, cloud computing, e-commerce and blockchain infrastructure. Leading members include Ripple, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, Adyen, Fiserv, Shopify, Google, Amazon Web Services, Cloudflare, Circle, MoonPay, Solana Foundation and Stellar Development Foundation.

Jim Zemlin, CEO of the Linux Foundation, said AI agents are increasingly becoming participants in the digital economy, but there is still a lack of a native and secure way to conduct online transactions. He pointed out that the foundation aims to help create an open and interoperable payment layer that will remain vendor neutral while supporting multiple payment methods, including traditional bank cards and stablecoins.

Why is the x402 Foundation built around an ancient web standard?

The protocol is based on the HTTP response code 402 (labeled "Payment Required"), which was reserved when the network communication standard was originally designed. For about three decades, the code has been unused because bank card processing costs made extremely small online payments uneconomical, leading websites to rely on subscriptions, advertising and API keys.

This gap began to be filled in May 2025, when Coinbase and other contributors launched the x402 protocol. Under this system, the server returns a 402 status code and a payment request. The client signs a stablecoin transaction (usually using USDC), resubmits the payment information with the request, and receives the requested data within seconds, without the need for a payment card, account registration, or existing business relationship.

This protocol is also used in AI-focused tools. Google has integrated x402 into its proxy payment protocol, and Cloudflare provides support for this protocol in its proxy development kit.

Why are global payment companies joining this initiative?

Membership reflects a growing interest in establishing universal payment standards rather than respective proprietary systems. Markus Infanger, senior vice president of RippleX at Ripple, said AI agents need payment systems that can run at the same speed and reliability as Internet communications. He added that Ripple has built support for x402 on the XRP ledger, allowing AI agents to trade using XRP and RLUSD, while contributing to interoperable payment standards.

Other founding members also elaborated on their priorities. Circle said x402 provides AI agents with a native way to make low-cost USDC payments via standard network requests. Stripe said it intends to help companies accept payments from AI agents, and MasterCard said that as machine-driven businesses expand, secure and interoperable standardization will be critical. Visa also said the future of agency commerce will depend on interoperability between payment networks, platforms and payment methods.

What does the latest trading data say?

The operating announcement itself does not publish transaction statistics. This data can be obtained through the x402 protocol homepage. In the past 30 days, the agreement has processed approximately 75 million transactions, averaging nearly 29 payments per second. During that period, it settled approximately $24 million between approximately 94,000 buyers and 22,000 sellers.

The average payment value is about 32 cents, indicating that the protocol focuses on low-value machine-to-machine transactions that traditional card networks typically cannot efficiently process due to transaction costs. Even with these data, the current scale is still relatively small. Monthly settlement volumes are still a small fraction of the single-day processing volume of many of the foundation's top members, indicating that wider adoption is still in the early stages.

What do independent on-chain indicators imply?

An independent on-chain indicator shows different pictures of ecological activity. DefiLlama tracks a metric called x402 DEX transaction volume. The indicator reached nearly $970,000 in a single day on December 3, before falling in the following months.

On July 13, the indicator was approximately US$16,000, totaling approximately US$572,000 in the past 30 days. These data represent an independent indicator of blockchain activity rather than agreement payments, and suggest fluctuations in ecological activity despite increased institutional engagement.

Conclusion

The x402 Foundation has now become the governing body for the payment protocol, which is designed to allow software, applications and AI agents to exchange value directly through standard network requests. Support from major payment networks, cloud service providers, blockchain organizations and technology companies demonstrates the industry's broad interest in developing a shared Internet-native payment framework. At the same time, current usage data suggests that ecosystems are still developing. Although the agreement has processed millions of low-value transactions and attracted support from 40 organizations, its payments are still small compared to the size of the foundation participating companies. Future progress may depend on whether real-world adoption grows in tandem with industry support for open, interoperable payment standards.