In an effort to advance internet payment standards, Coinbase has partnered with the Linux Foundation to establish the x402 Foundation. This new industry entity will oversee the development of a novel internet payments framework.
The foundation aims to manage the x402 protocol, which enables websites to request and receive payments within regular web traffic. Coinbase contributed this technology to the Linux Foundation for neutral oversight. “Open protocols are foundational to the internet,” stated Jim Zemlin, Executive Director at the Linux Foundation. “The x402 Foundation will foster an open, community-governed environment that ensures transparency, interoperability, and wide ecosystem participation in its development.”
With governance by the Linux Foundation, the protocol will remain vendor-neutral, supporting transparent and sustainable growth through community input.
Erik Reppel, Coinbase Developer Platform’s head of engineering, emphasized Coinbase’s ongoing involvement as a founding participant while the foundation handles further technology development. “Coinbase, as both founder and creator of the protocol, alongside Base, is part of the initial industry participants supporting its transition to an open-source model,” Reppel remarked to Decrypt.
Initially launched by Coinbase’s developer platform in 2025, x402 revitalized the HTTP 402 ‘Payment Required’ status code, introducing a native payment layer for web interactions. This allows sites and APIs to request payments during standard HTTP engagements before granting access to content or services. Developers are exploring this protocol as AI agents increasingly conduct online transactions. Projects like Sam Altman’s World are incorporating x402 into tools verifying agent representation of real individuals, while infrastructure initiatives such as MoonPay’s Open Wallet Standard offer support for the protocol.
The launch includes participation from companies like Google, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, Shopify, Cloudflare, and the Solana Foundation. James Tromans, Managing Director at Google Cloud for Web3 and Digital Assets, noted in a statement: “As commerce becomes more agent-driven, it’s crucial for cloud infrastructure to be as open as the supported protocols. By joining the x402 Foundation, Google underscores its commitment to interoperable standards facilitating secure, AI-powered transactions across platforms.”
“Solana has been an early adopter of x402, accounting for nearly 65% of this year’s transaction volume, and is nurturing a growing ecosystem that integrates x402 payments,” Rishin Sharma, Solana Foundation’s Head of AI Growth, shared in a statement. “We are excited to bolster the x402 Foundation in constructing the future of agent-based payments while encouraging more developers, merchants, and agents to adopt pay-per-request models with stablecoins.”
Operating under Linux Foundation governance, the x402 Foundation will promote community-led standard development. Organizations contributing to or utilizing this technology can join the foundation to influence its progression. Key initial objectives include ensuring interoperability across implementations and assisting developers and merchants in creating services around the standard.
Shan Aggarwal, Coinbase’s chief business officer, highlighted the project as a step toward more open payment infrastructure for the future of online transactions. “Agents will engage in buying, selling, and transacting on our behalf. They require an open, interoperable payment rail that eliminates the need for human confirmation,” Aggarwal told Decrypt. “That’s what x402 offers, now governed by the community.”