A sleeping HTTP status code for 27 years is now sparking a fundamental transformation in the internet payment layer through the fusion of AI and encryption technology.
Seven days after the x402 protocol ignited market enthusiasm, it did not fade away as many expected. As of October 27, 2025, the total market capitalization of the entire x402 ecosystem token surpassed $800 million, with a 24-hour increase of up to 361%, and trading volume remained high.
This protocol was launched by Coinbase in May 2025, aiming to activate the nearly thirty-year dormant HTTP 402 status code ("Payment Required") to build a frictionless, low-cost on-chain payment layer for AI agents.
1. Protocol Overview and Data Performance
The core innovation of the x402 protocol lies in embedding the blockchain payment process into standard HTTP requests, allowing AI agents and users to complete payments seamlessly, just like browsing the web.
● On-chain data shows that the growth of the x402 protocol is astonishing. In the past 30 days, the number of transactions increased by 35,000%, exceeding 1 million, while the number of buyers grew by 244,000%, surpassing 68,000. In the last 24 hours, the number of transactions reached 424.85 thousand, with a transaction volume close to $483.87 thousand, and the number of unique buyers exceeded 25.61 thousand.
● The protocol cleverly abstracts complex blockchain interactions, resulting in a simple and efficient workflow:
Client Request: The AI agent initiates an access request to a protected resource (such as an API interface).
402 Response: The server returns a "402 Payment Required" status code and specifies the required fee in the JSON payload.
Signature Retry: The client uses a wallet to sign the payment authorization, attaching the signature to the request header and resending the request.
Verification and Access: The "Facilitator" service verifies the signature and settles the payment on-chain, after which the server grants access to the resource.
2. Ecosystem Evolution: From MEME to Value Support
The x402 ecosystem is undergoing a silent shift in value, moving from pure MEME speculation to application projects with actual support.
Overview of Representative Ecosystem Projects
Project Name
Market Cap (Approx.)
Positioning
Key Progress
PayAI
$60.6M
x402 payment infrastructure (Facilitator)
Handles over 14% of x402 transactions, becoming the largest Facilitator outside of Coinbase
PING
$34-41M
The first MEME token issued through the x402 protocol
Market cap once exceeded $70M, now corrected to $34-41M
BNKR
$62.68M
Bank or liquidity provider within the ecosystem
24-hour increase of 16.4%
Source: AiCoin整理
● PayAI has surpassed PING to become the leader in the ecosystem, marking a key turning point.
● As the Facilitator of the x402 protocol, PayAI provides payment verification and settlement services for AI agents and APIs. Its number of sellers has reached over 82% of Coinbase, with the gap continuing to narrow.
● More quality sellers mean buyers have richer choices, which will attract more traffic, forming a positive cycle of “more sellers → influx of buyers → thriving ecosystem.”
3. The Truth Revealed by On-Chain Data
The activity of the x402 protocol saw a massive surge in late October 2025, with weekly transaction numbers increasing by 492.63% to reach 156,492 transactions, setting a new historical high. This growth was primarily driven by a minting frenzy of ecosystem tokens (especially $PING), conducting a large-scale real-world stress test for the protocol.
The x402 protocol demonstrates overwhelming advantages in micro-payment scenarios, representing not just incremental improvements but a paradigm shift for micro-payment scenarios.
On-Chain Key Indicator Comparison
Indicator Type
x402 Protocol (Base Chain)
Traditional Payments (e.g., Credit Cards)
Single Transaction Cost
Less than $0.0001
Approximately $0.30 fixed fee + 3% transaction fee
Settlement Speed
On-chain final confirmation within about 2 seconds
Final settlement can take days
Risk Characteristics
On-chain payments are final and irreversible once confirmed
There is a transaction cancellation risk of up to 120 days
Micro-Payment Feasibility
Supports transactions as low as $0.001
Not feasible due to high fees
Source: AiCoin整理
4. Major Players and Capital Movements
The rapid rise of the x402 protocol is supported by a carefully constructed, cross-industry strategic alliance.
Core Development Timeline:
● May 2025: Coinbase officially launched the x402 protocol, in collaboration with partners such as AWS, Anthropic, Circle, and NEAR.
● September 15, 2025: Google announced the integration of x402 into its Agent Payments Protocol, marking the formal endorsement by an internet giant.
● September 23, 2025: Coinbase and Cloudflare jointly initiated the x402 Foundation to ensure the protocol's open governance and neutrality.
● October 13-14, 2025: Visa announced support for the x402 standard through its Trusted Agent Protocol.
Members of this alliance also include industry leaders such as AWS, Circle, Anthropic, and Vercel, clearly indicating that all parties are committed to establishing x402 as a universal industry standard, rather than a proprietary tool of any single company.
a16z, a top venture capital firm firmly supporting the "agent-based business" track, has invested in ecosystem-related projects like Catena Labs, believing that protocols like x402 far exceed Visa and SWIFT in speed, cost, and programmability.
5. Risks and Challenges
Despite the promising outlook for the x402 protocol, it still faces multiple challenges.
● User Experience Issues are the weakest link in x402. The protocol is designed for machines, but humans need to initialize wallets, manage private keys, and purchase stablecoins. This requires a user-friendly "agent management platform" to completely hide the complexity.
● Security and Regulatory Risks cannot be ignored. Malicious prompt injection and infinite spending loops are potential threats. Additionally, x402's reliance on stablecoins places it directly under the scrutiny of financial regulators. From a network effect perspective, x402 needs enough service providers and user agents, which is a classic "chicken and egg" problem.
● Concept Token Speculation is also a significant risk. Many "x402 ecosystem tokens" in the market have no direct connection to the official protocol. Abstract developer Jarrod Watts warns: "I expect to see a wave of new AI currencies emerge in the coming weeks to fuel this craze. And they may be completely meaningless."
6. Future Outlook and Key Tracking Points
The x402 V2 version is set to launch, aiming to optimize the protocol for enterprise-level reliability and scalability.
● Six Core Upgrade Directions include:
Clearer Three-Layer Architecture. Aims to clarify responsibility boundaries through a clearer three-layer architecture, which helps improve the modularity and maintainability of the entire protocol.
Separation of Resources and Payments. Plans to separate resource descriptions (such as the requested data's URL and type) from payment instructions (such as amount and recipient address).
Universal Network Naming. A universal network naming mechanism aims to use a unified format to refer to assets across different blockchains and traditional payment methods.
Delayed Payment Support. An important optimization for high-frequency micro-payment scenarios. Delayed payment support allows clients to batch settle multiple small payments within a certain time or number of occurrences.
Improved Error Handling. Clear and detailed error information is crucial for developers. The V2 version is committed to providing better error handling and debugging mechanisms.
Backward Compatibility. Any successful protocol upgrade must consider the protection of the existing ecosystem. The x2 version solemnly promises backward compatibility, ensuring that all integrations based on the V1 version can continue to operate seamlessly in the V2 environment.
With the integration of mainstream protocols like Google AP2 and Visa TAP, as well as support from infrastructure giants like Cloudflare and Vercel, x402 is transitioning from an experimental protocol to a mature industry standard.
● Investors should closely monitor the following core dynamics:
Can ecosystem applications shift from token minting to real business scenarios? Currently, most activities are driven by token minting; [more cases like RWA.LTD](http://more cases like RWA.LTD) that use x402 for actual e-commerce payments are needed in the future.
What is the adoption status of the x402 V2 version? This will determine whether the protocol can support large-scale commercial use.
The future of the x402 protocol no longer solely relies on Coinbase's endorsement but depends on whether its ecosystem can continuously incubate projects with practical utility. When AI agents need to autonomously pay API fees, when content creators seek monetization methods beyond advertising, and when micro-payments become standard infrastructure for the internet, the x402 protocol may provide not just a technical solution but a reconfiguration of the underlying architecture of the internet economy.
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