Author: Haotian; Source: X, @tmel0211
Solana Labs co-founder Toly (@aeyakovenko) retweeted this post. Discussion about x402 has become popular in overseas communities. However, I feel that focusing too much on what exactly x402 technology is, its features and flaws, doesn't fully unlock its potential. Fortunately, someone has actually begun to preach from the grand perspective of how AI + Crypto will transform traditional internet payments!
I'll take the lead in the "sermon" in the simplified Chinese section:
The original sin of the traditional internet: the advertising model, when Visa and Mastercard controlled a vast network of terminals and a monopoly on fee structures, when payments were naturally divided by national borders, and when cross-border transfers could take days and be costly. This has left the internet with only the "free content + advertising monetization" path, as the per-person micropayment model simply doesn't work. However, the emergence of AI agents has completely overturned this logic: Imagine, when content consumers shift from humans to AI agents, the traditional internet business model based on the attention economy is doomed to fail, because you can't sell to an algorithm. To adapt to the new payment infrastructure of agents, it must accommodate high-frequency API calls, automated transactions, and cross-platform data capture, naturally requiring a more "instant, micro-amount, and borderless" payment system. This is the truth behind Paypal's launch of @GoKiteAI, Stripe's development of @tempo, and Tether's dual-edition collaboration of @Plasma and @stable. The entire payment system is about to undergo a turbulent transformation! This is the narrative foundation for the killer scenario of x402+blockchain: Blockchain, and Solana in particular, achieves ultra-low fees and high TPS, ensuring that every API call and every data access is accurately priced and settled in milliseconds. Combined with the x402 protocol, this creates a seamless, end-to-end process: "AI sends request -> Facilitator processes payment -> delivers content." Thus, the infrastructure already built by Crypto becomes a necessity for the internet world, and x402 becomes the key protocol connecting the internet and Crypto. My mom no longer has to complain that my AI+Crypto work is substandard. Therefore, x402 is more than just a payment protocol; it is the cornerstone of the internet economy in the AI era and the first piece in the puzzle of truly integrating Crypto and AI.
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