Cardano joins Solana, XRP Ledger in race to power AI agent payments
The Cardano Foundation has integrated the x402 payment standard, allowing AI agents to autonomously pay for data and computing resources. This move aligns Cardano with other blockchain networks like Solana and XRP Ledger in the emerging machine-to-machine payment economy.
Why it matters
This development represents a significant step toward enabling autonomous AI agents to conduct commercial transactions without human intervention.
x402 turns the web’s largely unused “402 Payment Required” response into a checkout built directly into an internet request. A service sends back its price and payment instructions, the agent signs a payment and receives the requested data or computing power after the transaction is verified.
That means an agent preparing a report could buy a single dataset when it needs it, without a person opening an account, entering card details or paying for a monthly subscription.
Coinbase created x402 in 2025 before contributing it to a Linux Foundation-backed organization whose members include Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Google and Amazon Web Services. Solana, the XRP Ledger and several Ethereum-compatible networks already support the standard.
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