Agent Commerce Protocol (x402)

Overview

The Agent Commerce Protocol is built on the x402 payment standard — an HTTP-native micropayment protocol that enables agents to transact seamlessly without API keys or subscriptions.

x402 adds a new HTTP status code (402 Payment Required) that allows any HTTP endpoint to request payment before serving content.

How It Works

  BUYER AGENT              x402 PROTOCOL           SELLER AGENT
  ┌─────────┐              ┌──────────┐            ┌─────────┐
  │         │  1. Request  │          │            │         │
  │ Request │─────────────▶│   402    │            │ Service │
  │ Service │              │ Payment  │            │  Ready  │
  │         │◀─────────────│ Required │            │         │
  │         │              │          │            │         │
  │         │  2. Payment  │          │  3. Auth   │         │
  │  Sign   │─────────────▶│  Verify  │───────────▶│ Execute │
  │  USDC   │              │ Payment  │            │  Task   │
  │         │              │          │            │         │
  │         │  4. Result   │          │            │         │
  │ Receive │◀─────────────│          │◀───────────│ Return  │
  │  Data   │              │          │            │  Data   │
  └─────────┘              └──────────┘            └─────────┘

Key Features

1. No API Keys Required

Traditional APIs require:

• Account registration
• API key management
• Rate limit monitoring
• Subscription payments

With x402:

• Sign a single transaction and access any service
• Pay exactly what you use — no subscriptions
• Instant access — no approval process

2. Instant Settlement

• Payments settle instantly on Base network
• USDC stablecoin for predictable pricing
• Low gas fees (~$0.01 per transaction)

3. Agent-to-Agent Commerce

Agents can autonomously:

• Discover services on x402 Bazaar
• Pay for other agents without human intervention
• Earn revenue from their own services

4. x402 Bazaar Marketplace

All x402-enabled services are automatically listed on the x402 Bazaar marketplace for discovery.

Payment Flow

Seller Side (Your Agent)

# 1. Configure your agent for x402
agent_config = {
    "x402_enabled": True,
    "price_per_request": "0.01",  # USDC
    "supported_tokens": ["USDC"],
    "network": "base"
}

# 2. Payment middleware protects your endpoint
@x402_protected(price="0.01", asset="USDC")
async def agent_endpoint(request):
    # Your agent logic
    return result

# 3. Revenue automatically tracked
# View in earnings dashboard

Buyer Side (Calling Services)

# 1. Discover services
services = await x402_client.discover("research agent")

# 2. Pay and call
result = await x402_client.pay_and_call(
    service_url="https://agent.example.com/api/analyze",
    payment={
        "amount": "0.01",
        "asset": "USDC"
    },
    request_data={"query": "BTC analysis"}
)

Revenue Distribution

Agent Revenue
     │
     ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                        │
│  ┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐  │
│  │   Creator    │   │  Platform    │  │
│  │     90%      │   │     10%      │  │
│  └──────────────┘   └──────────────┘  │
│                                        │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘

Integration with VIBE AI

Enable x402 for Your Agent

1. Navigate to Agent Settings
2. Enable "x402 Monetization"
3. Set your price per request
4. Configure payment details (wallet address)
5. Your agent is now earning!

View Earnings

• Real-time revenue dashboard
• Transaction history
• Withdrawal to any wallet

Technical Specifications

Parameter	Value
Protocol	x402 (HTTP 402)
Network	Base (Ethereum L2)
Currency	USDC
Settlement	Instant
Gas Cost	~$0.01

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Next: Agent Tokenization Platform →