x402

Aptos

Polygon

Coinbase-backed x402 has added batch settlement, a feature designed to reduce the cost of high-frequency AI agent payments by allowing many small transactions to settle later in bulk.
Base creator Jesse Pollak <a href="https://x.com/jessepollak/status/2054368886603276574" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> Wednesday that x402 now supports batched settlement, enabling very small payments below $0.0001 for on-demand resources such as compute and inference.
The feature lets buyers deposit ERC-20 funds into onchain escrow and sign offchain vouchers for each paid request. Sellers can verify those vouchers quickly, serve the request and later redeem many payments together in batched onchain transactions, <a href="https://docs.x402.org/schemes/batch-settlement" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according</a> to x402’s documentation.
The development adds another layer to the emerging market for agent payments. It comes a week after Amazon Web Services <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/aws-and-coinbase-launch-crypto-payment-infrastructure-for-ai-agents" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">(AWS) integrated Coinbase's</a> x402 payment protocol and wallet infrastructure to allow AI agents to make USDC (USDC) payments on Base and Solana without direct access to private keys.
Days earlier, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-cuts-14-of-workforce-citing-market-slump-and-ai-shift" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">cutting 14% of</a> the company’s workforce to restructure around smaller AI-focused teams using more automation tools, Cointelegraph reported on May 5.&nbsp;
<img alt="Coinbase-backed x402 adds batch settlement for AI agent payments" height="1152" src="https://s3-images.ctmedia.io/media/content/pasted-image-583.png" width="2048">
Coinbase introduces x402 batch settlement. Source: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">x402.org</a>
X402 is an open protocol based on the HTTP 402 “Payment Required” status code to support machine-to-machine payments. Coinbase <a href="https://www.coinbase.com/blog/introducing-amazon-bedrock-agentcore-payments-powered-by-x402-and-coinbase" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> the protocol processed over 169 million payments across 590,000 buyers and over 100,000 sellers in its first year.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/polygon-reduces-block-production-time-175-second" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Polygon reduces block time to 1.75 seconds as payments push accelerates</a>
<h2 id="batch-settlements-enable-gasless-transactions-for-ai-agents">Batch settlements enable gasless transactions for AI agents</h2>
Batch settlements look to allow sellers to offer agents a cheaper and faster experience where deposits, batched settlements and refunds are all sponsored by the transaction's facilitator, said Coinbase Developer Platform product lead Joshua Nickerson, in a Wednesday X <a href="https://x.com/Jnix2007/status/2054233052872872194" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">post</a>.
AI agents using batch settlement will be able to accept any Ethereum-native ERC-20 tokens, not just stablecoins. The feature is currently available in TypeScript and Go, with a Python implementation coming soon.
In the documented flow, the buyer opens or tops up a channel by depositing ERC-20 tokens into escrow. Each paid request includes a signed cumulative voucher, and the seller’s channel manager later claims vouchers from many channels in a single transaction before sweeping funds to the receiver.
<img alt="Coinbase-backed x402 adds batch settlement for AI agent payments" height="831" src="https://s3-images.ctmedia.io/media/content/pasted-image-584.png" width="815">
Source: <a href="https://x.com/Jnix2007/status/2054233052872872194" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Jnix</a>
<h2 id="crypto-companies-build-agent-rails">Crypto companies build agent rails</h2>
Other large cryptocurrency companies have also been building AI infrastructure.
On Monday, stablecoin issuer <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-unveils-agent-stack-for-ai-driven-stablecoin-transactions" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Circle launched a</a> suite of tools enabling AI agents to use wallets, discover services and make programmable payments with USDC, Cointelegraph reported.
On Friday, Aptos Foundation and Aptos Labs <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/aptos-foundation-labs-commit-50m-sees-opportunity-ai-agents" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">committed $50 million</a> to Aptos development, with a particular focus on AI agent infrastructure and research, including AI-powered onchain order book and perpetual exchange Decibel and decentralized storage protocol Shelby.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph-magazine.com/exploits-uncovered-by-ai-could-kill-defi-unless-projects-act-now/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now</a>

Coinbase-backed x402 adds batch settlement for AI agent payments

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