Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), the leading connectivity cloud company, today announced the intent to create the x402 Foundation, in collaboration with Coinbase, to further the development of an open Internet standard for digital payments. The x402 Foundation will help to create a new standard to simplify the process of sending and receiving payments on the Internet for website owners, developers, and content creators globally. Soon, creators and developers will have access to an open, flexible standard that will empower them to communicate payment requests and responses–regardless of geography, currency, or payment method.
The Internet is in need of a simple way for developers to monetize APIs, model context protocols, agents, and more – the new technologies that will define the Internet in the same way apps and mobile did in the previous decade. While the 402 “Payment Required” HTTP response has existed for decades, a lack of standardization has prevented its widespread adoption. Traditional payment systems are complex, slow, and bound by geography and currency, and have hindered the adoption of micropayments. A standardized protocol for Internet-native payments will make it easier for parties to send and receive payments without geographic, currency, or formatting differences.
“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,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. “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.”
“Coinbase has been exploring Internet payment standards since 2015, and the technology is finally here,” said Erik Reppel, creator of x402 and Head of Engineering for Coinbase Developer Platform. “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 aims to establish a consistent, open standard for “Internet-native money.” The goal is to provide a standardized way to communicate payment requests and responses, making it easier for parties to send and receive payments regardless of their location, the currency used, or the payment method (which could include credit cards, crypto, or other methods). A standardized format will enable anyone who wants to monetize something on the Internet – including developers charging for API access, creators charging for access to content, or an agent paying for something autonomously – to easily do so. Standardization means that anyone who receives a 402 “payment required” response will be able to easily interpret the request.
