Coinbase and AWS Enable AI Agents to Make Crypto Payments with New Standard

Coinbase and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are teaming up to treat AI agents as real customers. They're doing this by integrating a new payment standard called x402, which allows software agents to discover services, get a price, pay on the spot, and receive data or AI output without human intervention.

The x402 system uses the old HTTP 402 'Payment Required' code as a trigger, but settles payments with cryptocurrency in just a few hundred milliseconds. This approach supports high-frequency, low-value payments that are too small or too fast for traditional billing cycles.

Under x402, an AI agent makes a normal API call and receives a 402 message containing pricing and payment information. The agent then makes a tiny on-chain payment and retries the request. Once the payment is received, the server fulfills the request.

The integration of x402 also enables the use of XRP (XRP Ledger) and RLUSD in AI transactions. Developers have already wired XRPL into x402 through a facilitator built by t54, allowing agents to transact for API calls, AI model inference, and other services using XRP or RLUSD.