AI + payments might be on the verge of a boom, and for crypto, the x402 segment is likely to be the first to feel the impact. Signals from major players: Stripe: 288 updates to build an 'AI financial operating system' (Agentic Suite + Link proxy wallet + full-stack stablecoins), becoming a multi-protocol integration platform. Circle: USDC is almost monopolizing AI payments, Nanopayments supports microtransactions as small as $0.000001.