Cloudflare and Coinbase are forming the x402 Foundation to establish an open internet payment standard, simplifying online transactions.
Cloudflare, in collaboration with Coinbase, has announced the formation of the x402 Foundation, a new initiative aimed at creating an open Internet standard for digital payments.
The Foundation will work to simplify the process of sending and receiving payments online, enabling developers, website owners, and creators to monetise their work more easily.
The initiative addresses the long-standing need for a unified, open standard for Internet payments. While the 402 ‘Payment Required’ HTTP response code has existed for decades, the absence of standardisation has limited its adoption. Traditional payment systems remain slow, fragmented, and restricted by geography and currency, posing challenges for micropayments and new forms of digital commerce.
The x402 Foundation aims to deliver a consistent protocol that will allow parties to communicate payment requests and responses regardless of location, currency, or payment method. This could include credit cards, stablecoins, or other digital assets.
Developers, for example, could charge for API access, content creators could monetise their work directly, and autonomous agents could execute transactions without human intervention.
Cloudflare co-founder and CEO Matthew Prince said: “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’s Erik Reppel, creator of the x402 protocol and Head of Engineering for Coinbase Developer Platform, added: “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.”
By establishing the x402 Foundation, Cloudflare and Coinbase are seeking to create a standardised framework for “Internet-native money” that will underpin the next era of digital commerce.
The initiative reinforces the potential for blockchain and digital assets to integrate seamlessly into the Internet’s infrastructure, making payments as intuitive and universal as sending data or information online.
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