x402 Besides trading Meme coins, what other projects are worth paying attention to?

Author: Viee, core contributor at Biteye

 

To understand x402, we need to start with a “legacy feature” that has been shelved for nearly thirty years.

As early as 1997, the HTTP protocol reserved status code 402, representing “Payment Required.” However, due to the lack of feasible payment methods, it has remained unused.

Today, with the maturity of crypto-native stablecoins, L2s lowering payment costs, and the rise of AI Agents bringing real micropayment demand, Coinbase has leveraged this “long-dormant button” to launch the x402 protocol: allowing anyone or any AI to access paid content without registering an account or redirecting pages, enabling on-chain payments instantly.

What appears to be a simple “automatic payment” is actually backed by an entire ecosystem being rebuilt from the ground up. From protocol standards to infrastructure and upper-layer applications, x402 has the potential to reconstruct the payment logic of the internet.

This article will dive deep into the emerging x402 ecosystem to see, beyond Meme tokens, which protocols, chains, infrastructure, and applications are truly operational.

I. Protocol Layer: Enabling AI Agents with Payment Capabilities

The protocol layer of x402 is not a single standard, but a modular set designed to solve three key issues: how AI Agents communicate, how they pay, and how they establish identity and trust.

The core is the x402 protocol itself, designed based on the HTTP 402 status code. It allows AIs to automatically receive payment requests when accessing paid content or APIs and to complete on-chain transfers using stablecoins like USDC, all without registration or redirection.

To enable collaboration between AIs, Google proposed the A2A (Agent-to-Agent) protocol, which standardizes communication and task handover between agents. Anthropic also launched the MCP protocol, providing interfaces for AI to access tools and contextual data. Building on MCP, Google further released the AP2 payment protocol, enabling AI Agents to call services and complete automatic payments as needed, compatible with both traditional payments and x402.

The key to implementing these protocols is Ethereum’s EIP-3009 extension. It allows users to authorize token transfers via signature without paying Gas fees, solving the “AI wallet without ETH” payment problem. Complementing this is the ongoing ERC-8004, which establishes on-chain identity and reputation systems for AI Agents, recording execution history and trust scores to help service providers assess agent reliability.

In summary, the x402 protocol layer is gradually building a “language + currency + trust” system for AI, enabling AI Agents to transact, collaborate, and pay without human intervention—an essential first step for the ecosystem to function.

II. Infrastructure Layer: Making Payment Requests Work

The x402 protocol defines the solution, but what truly brings it to life is a complete set of infrastructure responsible for verifying requests, completing payments, coordinating services, and linking AI to the blockchain.

First is Cloudflare (@Cloudflare). As a global cloud platform, it co-founded the x402 Foundation with Coinbase and integrated the protocol into its CDN nodes and developer tools. Cloudflare not only provides a global distribution network but also supports a “use first, pay later” delayed payment mechanism, helping AI Agents smoothly access content and complete settlements.

Next is the x402 Facilitator, or payment aggregator (comprising multiple projects), responsible for helping AI agents complete a series of on-chain processes such as “payment on behalf, settlement, and broadcasting.” Users or AIs only need to initiate an HTTP 402 request, and the Facilitator will pay Gas, package the transaction, and broadcast it on-chain. The settlement process uses the EIP-3009 standard, allowing one-time authorization for USDC deductions, so the entire process requires no AI-held tokens or manual signatures, greatly simplifying on-chain interaction.

According to the data below, Coinbase (@coinbase) remains the largest Facilitator, handling over 1.35 million transactions and covering 80,000 buyers; PayAI (@PayAINetwork) ranks second, active on Solana and Base, with a cumulative transaction volume of $280,000 and a user count even surpassing Coinbase. Others like X402rs, Thirdweb (@thirdweb), Open X402 (@openx402), etc., are also competing for market share.

Source: https://www.x402scan.com/facilitators

Beyond Facilitators, there are also “native settlement blockchains” built specifically for x402. A representative project is Kite AI (@GoKiteAI), one of the first Layer1 blockchains to fully embed x402 payment primitives at the base layer, supported by institutions such as Coinbase Ventures and PayPal Ventures. It does not directly handle payment verification (not a Facilitator), but provides an execution and settlement environment for x402 transactions, supporting agents to automatically initiate, receive, and reconcile on-chain payments via standardized authorization instructions.

On the execution side, in addition to the native chain Kite AI designed for AI payments, the DePIN sector’s Peaq (@peaq) also plays a key role. Peaq is a public chain focused on the machine economy, natively supporting the x402 protocol, enabling automatic payments and settlements between devices and agents.

The representative project at the x402 collaboration layer is Questflow (@questflow), where developers can post agent tasks, set prices, and settle on-chain directly via x402. It has already partnered with Virtuals, Gate, and others.

Additionally, AurraCloud (@AurraCloud) and Meridian (@mrdn_finance) provide multi-chain settlement and escrow services for the x402 protocol.

In summary, the x402 infrastructure layer is being built around three core issues: how to send requests, how to securely receive payments, and how to quickly deploy across different chains—factors that determine whether the entire payment system can truly function.

III. Application Layer: What Applications Are Really Using x402?

The x402 protocol and infrastructure are in place, but the application layer is still nascent, with few projects actually live.

• Daydreams (@daydreamsagents): Building an LLM inference platform powered by x402 payments.
• Heurist Deep Research (@heurist_ai): A Web3-native AI research platform where users pay per query with USDC to automatically generate multi-page research reports.
• Gloria AI (@itsgloria_ai): Implements pay-per-article news using x402.
• Snack Money API: A micropayment interface for X, Farcaster, etc., enabling small payments and tipping around identity and social interactions.
• tip.md (@tipdotmd): Allows AI assistants to help users complete crypto tipping directly in chat interfaces, with USDC tips processed through the full MCP+x402 payment flow.
• Firecrawl (@firecrawl_dev): A web scraping and cleaning API that converts websites into LLM-usable data, charging per call via x402.

Overall, the x402 application layer is still exploring; functional platforms are just starting out and have yet to achieve scale. It remains to be seen who can first deliver truly usable, payable, and reusable products.

IV. Meme: High Price and Hype Volatility

As the x402 narrative gains traction, the market has quickly seen a batch of native Meme projects “riding the narrative,” the most representative being PING issued on the Base chain. On launch day, its market cap quickly surpassed 10 million USD.

Besides PING, tokens like “PENG” and “x402” have also emerged in the community. These Meme tokens are not core to the protocol but can provide attention, hype, and early liquidity.

V. From Protocol to Adoption: What Challenges Does x402 Still Face?

Although the x402 concept is eye-catching, there are still many practical challenges to real-world adoption.

First, there is a lack of truly usable products. Most projects are still in testnet or proof-of-concept stages, and user experience remains rough for now.

Second, the tech stack is complex and integration costs are high. x402 involves a new set of protocols, integrating payment, signature transfers, agent communication, and more, posing a high barrier for developers.

Third, compliance risks. The “no account, no redirect payment” model, while efficient, bypasses traditional payment system KYC/AML requirements and may face regulatory concerns in some regions.

Fourth, network effects have yet to form. The core of payment protocols is ecosystem collaboration, but currently, few services and platforms have integrated x402, so the ecosystem is not yet self-sustaining.

In summary, x402 is still some distance from “large-scale adoption,” with several hurdles to overcome from technology to real-world implementation.

VI. Participation Opportunities

From a participation perspective, the long-term opportunities for x402 lie more in the layout of infrastructure and key platforms.

First are base chains and infrastructure. x402 relies heavily on Ethereum ecosystem standards like EIP-3009 and ERC-8004, with Base currently the main deployment chain. Its strong stablecoin loop and developer-friendly environment make it likely to incubate leading products first. Solana also has advantages in high-frequency payments, suitable for agent microtransaction scenarios.

Next are native settlement blockchains like Kite AI, as well as payment aggregators and service platforms such as PayAI, Meridian, and AurraCloud. They handle payment verification, Gas, and API integration, and once they become general entry points, their value will scale rapidly.

As for tokens, caution is advised. Currently, x402-related tokens are small in scale and highly volatile, with many Meme coins still driven by narrative. Projects with real payment adoption or platform utility are more worthy of attention.

VII. KOL Perspectives

In today’s divided market, the views of leading builders and KOLs on the x402 ecosystem are also worth noting.

Haotian @tmel0211 points out that the current x402 craze is mostly driven by Meme speculation, but the real “main course”—technical implementation and ecosystem formation—has yet to begin. Only after market selection will quality projects emerge. He believes that those treating x402 as a short-term speculation are misunderstanding the logic and pace of the entire track.

Laobai @Wuhuoqiu, from a historical perspective, notes that micropayments are not a new concept. From early Bitcoin and Lightning Network to Nano, IOTA, and BSV, the crypto space has repeatedly tried to promote small transaction applications, but large-scale adoption has always been elusive. What’s different about x402 is that, for the first time, it has found a true “subject” in need of micropayments: AI Agents, rather than human users.

Danny @agintender takes an even broader view, pointing out that the greater potential behind x402 is as the payment infrastructure for the “machine economy.” From on-chain knowledge collaboration and API economy to AI-driven DAO governance, all these M2M (machine-to-machine) transaction needs naturally require a frictionless, accountless, and automatically executable payment layer.

Blue Fox Notes @lanhubiji, from an architectural perspective, believes that Facilitators, as the key link for payment verification and execution, are becoming one of the most core infrastructures in the track. Projects like PayAI, Coinbase, and Pieverse have already formed a clear competitive landscape.

Finally, Zhixiong Pan @nake13 raises a long-term question: Can Agents truly “hold and pay with tokens”? This involves key mechanisms such as private key custody and permission management.

In summary, while x402’s current popularity may fluctuate, for long-termists, it is just entering its true construction phase.