A long-forgotten HTTP status code is now sparking a new gold rush in the cryptocurrency market, with AI agents taking center stage this time. "In the past seven days, x402 protocol transaction volume surged by 701.7%, with 163,600 transactions and a transaction amount skyrocketing by 8,218.5% to nearly $140,000."
Behind these numbers is the explosive growth of the open-source payment protocol x402 launched by Coinbase. Driving this growth is the first token based on the protocol—PING—which created the legend of its market cap breaking $20 million from zero within just a few days.
I. x402 Protocol: Awakening the Dormant HTTP 402 Status Code
Before delving into this frenzy, we first need to understand what exactly the x402 protocol is.
● The x402 protocol was launched by the US-compliant exchange Coinbase in May 2025. It is an open-source, HTTP-native payment protocol. Its name comes from the long-unused HTTP status code "402 Payment Required".
Simply put, x402 allows websites, APIs, and even AI agents to directly request payments via network requests, with users not needing to register or undergo complex authentication—just pay with a digital wallet using stablecoins (mainly USDC).
● The core value of the x402 protocol lies in solving the autonomous payment problem for AI agents.
In the rapidly developing AI landscape of 2025, AI agents face a major challenge: although they can help users query data, use APIs, or purchase computing power, they cannot log in to websites, enter passwords, or swipe cards for payments like humans.
Traditional payment methods are slow, complex, and have fees as high as 2-3%, making them unsuitable for the "micropayment" needs of AI (such as paying a few cents for a piece of data). The x402 protocol fills this gap, leveraging blockchain technology (mainly the Base chain) and charging only minimal gas fees, enabling AI to directly pay for services without human intervention.
II. Ecosystem Explosion: The Evolution from Concept to Hotspot
The explosive growth of the x402 protocol began in October 2025, driven by several key events:
● Endorsement by Major Players: On September 23, Cloudflare and Coinbase jointly established the "x402 Foundation," giving it an "official certification" label. Cloudflare's servers began supporting x402 transactions, meaning global websites can now use it.
● Adoption by Giants: Google included x402 in the AP2 protocol (AI agent standard), and AWS, Anthropic, Circle, and others also joined, signaling collective optimism from tech giants.
● Support from Payment Giants: On October 14, Visa released the Trusted Agent Protocol (TAP), explicitly developed in collaboration with Cloudflare, with specifications and implementation examples available on the Visa Developer Center.
● Wealth Effect Emerges: Around October 23, the first token issued based on the x402 protocol, PING, was launched on the Base chain. Users could randomly receive 5,000 PING tokens by paying 1 USDC. PING's market cap once exceeded $30 million, an 18-fold increase, creating a significant wealth effect.
The table below summarizes key projects in the x402 protocol ecosystem and their market performance:
Project Name | Positioning | Market Cap/Data | Features |
PING | First token of x402 protocol | Peak $20M+ | Based on Base chain, pay 1 USDC to randomly receive 5,000 tokens |
PayAI Network | AI payment infrastructure | $5.1M | Solana-priority, provides millisecond-level settlement |
Daydreams | AI agent framework and payment platform | $6.4M | Focuses on long-term task planning and execution |
Questflow | Multi-AI agent orchestration layer | Among top x402 transaction volumes | Processed over 130,000 autonomous microtransactions |
KITE AI | Agent internet infrastructure | Raised $18M in Series A | Provides identity verification and programmable payments for agents |
III. Market Impact: How x402 Is Stirring Up the Crypto Market
The rapid rise of the x402 protocol and its ecosystem tokens is having a multi-layered impact on the cryptocurrency market.
Price and Trading Aspects
● Token prices are highly volatile. As the first token issued based on the x402 protocol, PING's market cap broke $20 million from zero within days, peaking at $30 million, creating a stunning wealth effectx402 protocol ignites the AI payment revolution: the unfinished dream of internet payments is being realized by cryptocurrency.
● Trading activity surges. According to x402scan browser data, x402 protocol transaction volume surged 701.7% in the past seven days, reaching 163,600 transactions. The transaction amount soared 8,218.5% to nearly $140,000.
● Related concept tokens are sought after. Following PING's success, a series of x402 concept tokens such as $SANTA, $PAYAI, $GLORIA, etc., have emerged, forming a nascent x402 ecosystem.
On-chain Fundamentals
● Base chain activity surges. Most x402 protocol transactions occur on Coinbase's Base chain. In the past week, x402 protocol processed hundreds of thousands of transactions on Base, bringing real on-chain activity and fee revenue.
● Number of addresses soars. As x402 protocol's popularity rises, the number of buyers surged by over 1.5 million percent, totaling about 31,000 new addresses. This indicates the protocol is attracting a large influx of new users into the crypto ecosystem.
Capital and Liquidity
● Stablecoin usage increases. The x402 protocol supports micropayments in stablecoins like USDC, with settlement times of just 2 seconds and zero protocol fees. This greatly enhances the potential application of stablecoins in payment scenarios.
● Exchanges respond quickly. To meet investor demand, Binance Wallet has added the x402 token list, enhancing liquidity and visibility for related tokens.
Industry and Sentiment
● AI and Crypto integration accelerates. The x402 protocol is seen as a bridge between the top tracks of AI and Crypto, laying the foundation for the "agent economy" by solving the payment problem for AI agents.
● Market sentiment is both excited and cautious. On one hand, the market is full of expectations for the future of the x402 protocol, believing it could become the Web3 payment standard, comparable to HTTPS for Web2. On the other hand, many experts warn that there is a lot of speculation in the current ecosystem, and risks should be heeded.
IV. Data Perspective: Key Metrics of the x402 Protocol at a Glance
The table below shows the main on-chain data metrics of the x402 protocol during its explosive period, helping us better visualize its growth scale:
Metric Type | Specific Data | Growth Rate | Statistical Period |
Number of Transactions | 163,600 | 701.7% | Past 7 days |
Transaction Amount | $140,200 | 8,218.5% | Past 7 days |
Number of Buyers | 31,000 | 1,500,000% | Past 7 days |
Total Protocol Transactions | Nearly 500,000 | 10,780% | One week (Oct 14-20) |
Single Day Transaction Peak | 239,500 | - | - |
Single Day Amount Peak | $332,000 | - | - |
V. Perspectives: How the Market Views the x402 Phenomenon
Faced with the rapid rise of the x402 protocol, market participants have expressed different views.
● "Technical Pragmatists": Abstract developer Jarrod Watts believes x402 is a truly innovative technology related to cryptocurrency, providing a powerful use case for stablecoins and enabling AI agents to interact natively with the internet.
In his view, x402 "kills the API key," allowing payments to be completed directly via HTTP requests, so AI Agents can access paid APIs without human intervention.
● "Risk Warners": SlowMist's Cosine reminds investors that x402 is only responsible for payments and does not include token issuance or additional materials. Due to the recent surge in PING token popularity, users should be cautious when authorizing signatures to prevent fund risks.
● "Ecosystem Optimists": As early as this May, user Simon Taylor commented that "x402 makes digital currency flow like data, creating a truly meaningful subscription alternative in the internet economy." He boldly predicted: x402 can bring security to money like HTTPS and become the standard supporting trillions of transactions.
The current overall market sentiment is clearly FOMO (fear of missing out), but as price volatility intensifies, some investors are turning more cautious.
VI. Risk Warning: Investment Cautions Amid the x402 Craze
Despite the huge potential shown by the x402 protocol, investors should remain alert to the risks involved.
● Technical Risk: As an emerging protocol, x402's capabilities in identity verification, privacy protection, and defense against complex attacks still need time to be tested. Some critics point out that its architecture lacks modern privacy protection technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs (zk-ID).
● Speculation Risk: Many popular "x402 ecosystem tokens" currently have no direct connection with the official protocol and are more about market speculation, with highly volatile prices. SlowMist's Cosine specifically reminds, "x402 is only responsible for payments and does not include token issuance or additional materials. Due to the recent surge in PING token popularity, users should be cautious when authorizing signatures to prevent fund risks."
● Regulatory Risk: How to meet financial regulatory requirements (such as KYC) in different regions is also a challenge that must be addressed.
● Competition Risk: This field is not without competitors. For example, projects like Nevermined also provide similar solutions and have their own advantages in payment model flexibility and compliance tools.
● Ecosystem Sustainability Risk: The current market hotspot is largely driven by token issuance and speculation. The key to the protocol's long-term development lies in whether it can attract enough heavyweight commercial applications, not just the issuance of Memecoins.
VII. Future Outlook: The Evolution Path of the x402 Protocol
Looking ahead, the development of the x402 protocol may evolve along the following directions:
● Short-term (1-3 months): The x402 ecosystem may continue to see new token issuance projects, along with more self-proclaimed "orthodox" new projects, which may improve custody methods, change transaction minting forms, or seek native protocol support, etc.
● Mid-term (6-12 months): As more websites support x402, the demand for AI agents to use it to purchase data and computing power will grow with the AI boom. If the current momentum continues, x402 could become one of Coinbase's most successful developer-led initiatives.
● Long-term (1-2 years): The x402 protocol could become the Web3 payment standard, comparable to HTTPS for Web2. It is expected to become a key player in the rise of machine-to-machine (M2M) payments, supporting the so-called "agent economy".
The development path of the x402 protocol has already begun to diverge: one path leads to pragmatic technological innovation—becoming the payment layer for the AI agent economy; the other points to frenzied token speculation—giving birth to a new generation of meme coins.
In the coming weeks, two dynamics are worth close attention: first, whether the x402 Foundation will launch a standard protocol upgrade; second, whether any well-known AI projects announce integration of x402 payments. These two signals will determine whether this boom is another flash in the pan for the crypto market or the true starting point of a digital revolution.
