Coinbase has introduced a new payments protocol for online payments that enables stablecoin transfers over standard internet protocols and AI agents to transact autonomously.
On May 6, Coinbase announced that it is launching a protocol called x402 for instant stablecoin payments directly over the internet communication protocol HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).
It allows Application Programming Interface (APIs), apps, and AI agents to transact seamlessly, “unlocking a faster, automated internet economy,” the firm stated.
Coinbase said that x402 “is fixing the internet’s first mistake.” The protocol resurrects the experimental HTTP 402 “Payment Required” status code to create a seamless payment system native to the internet.
The firm noted that traditional payment rails, such as credit cards, bank transfers and subscriptions, “were built for a pre-internet world.”
They’re slow, expensive, geographically limited, and “riddled with manual steps,” it added.
However, x402 embeds stablecoin payments directly into web interactions,