Author: Haotian; Source: X, @tmel0211
The smell of gunpowder is already faintly in the x402 track:
1) The Launchpad battle is about to begin. @pingobserver is personally in charge of the c402 Market, which is full of suspense, but the goal is to empower the $PING token with a positive flywheel, but this is just the prelude to the battle.
The x420 Dev abandoned the slightly lame launch method and actively embraced xEcho, which proposed the innovative empowerment concept of "Pay to X" @agileadtodark; @memeputer seems to have standardized multiple scenarios such as shopping, NFT, and transactions through Agent + Pay. There are also similar ones like @awenetwork_ai... In short, many differentiated launchpads will emerge, challenging Bounding again.
... Curve explores fair, fun, and practical token issuance methods. The competition in the Facilitator track is also fierce. The $PAYAI token migration is underway, the Solana x402 hackathon is in full swing, @star_okx has also entered the x402 track with its xlayer ecosystem, and the Base ecosystem is expanding globally with Coinbase CDP; @MetisL2 has also introduced GMPayer and integrated ZKP, TEE and other technologies to support Agents in cross-chain self-service payments, and there are many more. To reiterate, while the barrier to entry for Facilitators is low, the battle for payment pipelines in the Facilitator space will be no less intense than the early DeFi aggregator and yield farming wars, leading to a booming scene of multiple chains vying to enter the Facilitator arena. 3) Providers, as the infrastructure builders of the x402 sector, are not particularly prominent, but they may become a key force driving the x402 sector forward thanks to their experience and well-developed reserves. @questflow is actively promoting multi-chain x402 Facilitators and has integrated with Mantle, Xlayer, and others; $dreams once broke 40M FDV and was hailed by the community as the new leader. There are still many variables, and I don't think the Provider role will become the focus of hype in the near future, but building confidence in the x402 sector requires observing what they are doing. That's all. In other aspects, competition in the Scanner field is also fierce. @x402scan is iterating rapidly, and 8004scan is now compatible with ERC8004. @yq_acc has been consistently promoting this. While the competition surrounding indexers isn't as intense, it's crucial. As I've said before, in an open x402 track without standards, a new "L2Beat" will emerge in the Scanner field. As for the Agent application market, I won't elaborate. A large number of established Agents, especially those from @virtuals_io, are seeking new life through new payment features. However, a batch of new Utility Agents, especially in the GameFi and SocialFi directions, seems to be brewing something. We look forward to their rapid emergence, opening up some space for Agent applications.