How Automated Agents Pay Each Other: x402 Protocol Explained

说明与用途

x402 协议使自动化代理能够通过 HTTP 402 和 Base 上的 USDC 进行按请求支付，消除了手动账户和密钥的需求。

问题

Automated systems need to transact programmatically, but traditional payment rails require manual intervention—accounts, API keys, subscriptions.

结果

The x402 protocol enables fully automated, per-request payments between agents using USDC on Base, removing manual account and key management.

工作流

• 1. Agent sends request to a paid API endpoint.
• 2. Endpoint responds with HTTP 402 and a payment instruction in the body.
• 3. Agent pays the specified USDC amount on Base to the endpoint’s wallet.
• 4. Upon receipt, the endpoint processes the request and returns the response.
• 5. Agent repeats the cycle for subsequent requests.

证据

We built a system where automated agents pay per request using the x402 protocol — HTTP 402 + USDC on Base. No accounts, no keys, just wallets and code.

来源