Cloudflare has announced plans to create the x402 Foundation in collaboration with Coinbase to advance the development of an open Internet standard for digital payments.
The initiative is focused on establishing a consistent set of rules and protocols for making payments online, aiming to simplify transactions across different geographies, currencies, and methods. Both companies have highlighted the need for an interoperable payments standard as emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the so-called agentic web become more common.
The x402 Foundation will focus on revitalising the 402 "Payment Required" HTTP response code, which has existed for decades but has not seen widespread adoption due to the lack of a unified protocol. The intention is to address longstanding issues with traditional payment systems, which are often criticised as complex, slow, and constrained by geographic or financial boundaries. Cofounders believe a standardised Internet-native payments protocol will make it easier for businesses and individuals alike to exchange value online, including for purposes such as API access, content transactions, or automated agent payments.
Cloudflare's Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Matthew Prince said:
"Coinbase deserves immense credit for starting the work on the x402 protocol and we're excited to partner with them on our shared vision for a neutral foundation. The Internet's core protocols have always been driven by independent governance, which is why we're proud to work with Coinbase to ensure x402 has the same path, given its likelihood to become a core protocol for agentic commerce."
While work on Internet payment standards has been ongoing for several years, the partners claim that recent advances in infrastructure and market need make the timing appropriate for a unified approach. Erik Reppel, Head of Engineering for Coinbase Developer Platform, added:
"Coinbase has been exploring Internet payment standards since 2015, and the technology is finally here. Agentic commerce is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink how value moves online. The x402 Foundation will help lay the groundwork to make it happen."
The x402 Foundation's stated goal is to provide an open standard for what it calls "Internet-native money." Essentially, this will involve a technical specification for how payment requests and responses are communicated online. The companies say the new foundation will allow any website or developer to monetise their services simply and consistently, without worrying about regional restrictions or the technical complexity of integrating various payment processors. This extends not just to traditional monetary transfers, but also to cryptocurrencies or other payment methods.
The scope of the proposed standard is broad: developers might charge for API usage, creators could require payment for digital content, and autonomous Internet agents might perform transactions independently. Standardisation would mean that any entity receiving a 402 "payment required" response would be able to understand and process the request in a uniform way, whatever the payment method used.
Coinbase has invested effort in this area since 2015, pursuing what it describes as "Internet payment standards." Cloudflare has recently explored payment standard uses in contexts such as the Monetised Content Protocol and automated agents that might charge AI companies for access to digital assets or data.
Both companies emphasise that the standard must be managed by a neutral governing body, not controlled by any single company, to maintain broad adoption and ensure the protocol is as robust and widely accepted as other core Internet standards. The x402 Foundation thus aims to operate as an independent organisation inclusive of input from external contributors who may wish to participate in forming the protocol.