Coinbase Launches x402 Batch Settlement to Advance AI Payments

Coinbase-backed x402 has launched a new batch settlement feature designed to significantly reduce the cost of high-frequency payments for AI agents. This feature allows numerous small transactions, some below $0.0001, for on-demand resources like compute and inference, to be settled in bulk later. Buyers can deposit ERC-20 funds into an on-chain escrow and sign off-chain vouchers for each request, while sellers can verify these vouchers, serve the request, and then redeem multiple payments in a single batched on-chain transaction. This development follows Amazon Web Services' integration of Coinbase's x402 protocol for AI agent USDC payments and aligns with Coinbase's broader restructuring around AI-focused teams. The x402 protocol, based on the HTTP 402 status code, aims to support machine-to-machine payments and has already processed millions of payments. Batch settlements also enable gasless transactions for AI agents, with sellers sponsoring deposits, settlements, and refunds. The feature supports any Ethereum-native ERC-20 tokens and is currently available in TypeScript and Go, with Python support coming soon. This move by x402 is part of a larger trend of crypto companies building AI infrastructure, with recent initiatives from Circle and the Aptos Foundation.

(Source：Cointelegraph)