Coinbase has transferred the open payment protocol x402 under the management of the Linux Foundation — a non-profit organization that coordinates open-source software development. At the same time, a governing body is being formed, already including Cloudflare and Stripe.
The protocol was created to process tiny, high-frequency micropayments worth fractions of a cent — transactions that traditional payment systems struggle with or can’t handle at all. These operations are vital for AI agents that independently perform commercial actions and pay for services without human involvement.
What X402 Is and Why It Matters
Unlike the traditional online cart model, x402 doesn’t require a single large payment. The protocol supports thousands of small transactions per second — a structure where conventional card networks would be unprofitable. This makes it especially valuable in scenarios where AI agents pay for each API call, database query, or unit of computation.
Moving x402 under the Linux Foundation aims to solve the problem of fragmentation — to create for AI commerce what SSL once became for secure internet connections: a single open standard the entire industry can trust.
“The Internet was built on open protocols, and the x402 foundation will ensure a transparent environment for developing these capabilities,” said Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin.
Who Joined the Initiative
The list of participants expressing interest in joining the foundation spans several industries. Among them are Amazon Web Services, American Express, Base, Circle, Mastercard, Microsoft, Polygon Labs, Google, Solana Foundation, Visa, and others.
“The transition to agent-based commerce requires cloud infrastructure that is as open as the protocols supporting it,” said James Tromans, Managing Director of Web3 and Digital Assets at Google Cloud.