x402 Foundation Officially Launches, AI Agent Payment Protocol Moves to Open Governance
The Linux Foundation announces the operational launch of the x402 Foundation, with Coinbase completing the donation transfer of the x402 protocol. The protocol will now be governed jointly by enterprises in finance, payments, cloud computing, and blockchain.
The Linux Foundation has announced that the x402 Foundation is now fully operational, following Coinbase’s donation of the x402 protocol. Moving forward, the protocol will be governed collaboratively by companies spanning finance, payments, cloud computing, and blockchain.
Built on the HTTP 402 status code, x402 enables AI agents, applications, and APIs to automatically complete payments and access digital services within network requests—without requiring pre-registered accounts or subscription purchases. The Foundation will drive protocol standardization, cross-platform interoperability, and support for multiple payment methods, including stablecoins and bank cards.
To date, 40 organizations have joined, including AWS, American Express, Circle, Cloudflare, Coinbase, Google, Mastercard, Stripe, and Visa. This transition marks x402’s shift from a corporate-led initiative to an open, neutral governance framework under the Linux Foundation.
