This article is reprinted with permission from Bitpush, author: Seedly.eth, copyright belongs to the original author.
Recently, the crypto market has been completely ignited by "AI Agent" and the "X402 Protocol."
In just a few days, following $PING, the PayAI Network ($PAYAI) token, which is part of the Solana ecosystem, surged by 1900%, with the token price skyrocketing from $0.004 to $0.06. Endorsements from Coinbase, Solana, Cloudflare, and numerous KOLs, along with listings on exchanges like BitMart, have made it the hottest asset in the AI sector, with a market cap exceeding $60 million.
The total market cap of the entire x402 ecosystem has also surpassed $800 million on CoinGecko.
Unlike ordinary "AI coins," x402 is not a single token but an Open Payment Protocol. Its name comes from the HTTP status code "402 – Payment Required," symbolizing the realization of native internet payments.
x402 allows AI agents or software clients to make cross-chain payments directly using stablecoins like USDC without the need for accounts or API keys, enabling machine-to-machine (M2M) autonomous settlement. In simple terms, AI agents can not only "think" and "execute" but also possess the ability to "pay" for the first time.
In September 2025, Coinbase and Cloudflare jointly launched the X402 Foundation to officially kick off the ecological construction of the protocol. Following this, venture capital giant a16z cited Gartner's predictions in its annual report:
a16z believes that x402 will become the financial backbone of this "machine economy," supporting AI agents in completing micro-payments, API settlements, data calls, and other automated economic activities.
On the other side of the excitement, industry insiders have begun to diverge, with the community engaging in open debates about whether X402 is a "revolution" or a "bubble."
Optimists: The Payment Revolution of the AI Internet
Ryan Sean Adams (@RyanSAdams, 271K followers) stated:
The rise of x402 marks a fundamental shift in internet business models—from the attention currency of the "social internet" to the micro-transaction currency of the "AI internet." He pointed out that AI agents will purchase AI services through the internet's native micro-payment system, executed on Ethereum, "This is the true beginning of the de-intermediation of the network economy."
S4mmyEth (@S4mmyEth, 50K followers) noted:
x402 is the key protocol for agents to make on-chain payments, bringing the internet back to what it should be—"enabling payments through HTTPS." He cited a16z's 2025 report, stating that machine clients will directly participate in or influence $30 trillion in transactions by 2030, "x402 is the payment backbone of this era."
He believes that x402 allows the internet to achieve interaction based on "payments as the underlying language" for the first time, which will drive the formation of the machine economy.
0xTechBuilder (@0xTechBuilder, 80K followers):
The significance of x402 lies in "paying for services with services." In the past, API calls relied on manual settlements or centralized billing platforms, while x402's automatic payment mechanism allows machines to settle bills independently, "This is the true beginning of a closed-loop business model in Web3."
Crypto KOL @ghost93_x expressed:
Regarding x402, my core points are:
The current market situation is concerning: Most of the tokens emerging now will exploit market hype for speculation, essentially being follow-the-trend projects.
Participants are irrational: Most participants do not conduct in-depth research, blindly chasing prices while pretending to care about and understand the technology on social media.
The industry environment is harsh: The crypto industry is 99.9% filled with scams.
However, x402 is an exception: In this "crypto agency" quagmire, x402 is currently the most authentic and practically valuable technology that has emerged.
Please be sure to reread and understand point 4.
Cautious faction: FOMO-driven high-risk narrative
aixbtagent (@aixbtagent, 470K followers) reminds investors:
"Although the narrative of x402 is reasonable, the price has been driven up by FOMO sentiment. He suggests that investors wait for a pullback range of $0.015–$0.02 and warns that most projects are merely 'shell speculation' and have not truly participated in protocol construction."
gregoffchain (@gregoffchain) bluntly stated:
"Almost all narrative tokens eventually go to zero. x402 is an important technological advancement, but most of its surrounding tokens lack real value. From the metaverse to AI, and then to Agents, each cycle repeats the same script: real technological signals → market overinterpretation → speculative funds flood in → prices revert."
ChainLinkAlpha (@ChainLinkAlpha, 60K followers) pointed out from on-chain data:
"The issuance speed of x402-related tokens has far exceeded the speed of ecological implementation. Without sustained real demand, the narrative is difficult to support prices."
Despite the controversies, a basic consensus is that x402 represents a noteworthy technological direction in exploring AI payments and the machine economy.
At the same time, excessive speculation and immature technology are unavoidable risks. As market observers have pointed out: "The faster the price rises, the more severe the potential correction may be."
The long-term value of x402 does not depend on market hype but on practical application. Only when AI can autonomously complete payments and data services can achieve pay-per-use billing will the initial narrative truly transform into reality.
Related: The Base chain sees a 30x surge in the golden dog $PING, and the x402 protocol ignites the "Inscription 2.0" craze.
Original text: “X402: Another Narrative Bubble?”
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
