Big Tech firms have come together to back a new industry body focused on standardizing how AI agents handle payments across crypto and traditional rails. Summary Big Tech firms including Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services backed the launch of the x402 Foundation to standardize AI-driven payment infrastructure. The Linux Foundation introduced the initiative with Coinbase, placing the protocol under an open source and nonprofit structure. The Linux Foundation on Thursday announced the launch of the x402 Foundation, a governance initiative built around the x402 protocol, with early support from companies including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services. The project has been developed with input from Coinbase, which originally introduced the x402 protocol. A number of financial and blockchain firms have also signaled early backing, including American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, Circle, Solana Foundation, and Polygon Labs. Support has also come from infrastructure and commerce platforms such as Cloudflare and Shopify, along with developer-focused firms like Thirdweb and regional payment provider KakaoPay. According to Coinbase, placing the protocol under the Linux Foundation gives it a “neutral, nonprofit home,” that could eventually help attract support from tech firms and developers compared to a company banner. Jim Zemlin, CEO of the Linux Foundation, pointed to the internet’s history of shared infrastructure, stating that “the internet was built on open protocols,” as he made the case for adopting a similar model for AI-driven payments. AI agents to dominate crypto transactions The x402 protocol is designed as an open standard that allows AI agents and web services to execute payments on their own, covering use cases such as paying for APIs, accessing data, or purchasing digital services without human intervention. Momentum around the concept has been building alongside expectations that machine-to-machine transactions could become a dominant force in crypto payment activity. Brian Armstrong said recently that “there will be more AI agents transacting online than humans very soon,” aligning with earlier remarks from Jeremy Allaire, who projected that “literally billions of AI agents” could be active on-chain within three to five years. Similarly, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has argued that crypto is the “native currency for AI agents,” particularly for automated payments ranging from ticket purchases to recurring bills. However, activity tied to the x402 protocol has yet to show steady growth. Data from Dune Analytics indicates that usage surged late last year before tapering off. Weekly transaction counts climbed to about 13.7 million during the week of Nov. 4–10, followed by another 13.66 million the week after. Activity has since cooled, with weekly volumes ranging from roughly 29,000 to 1.1 million so far in 2026, pointing to uneven adoption despite strong backing from major industry players.
