October 2025 marks the strong return of the AI Agent wave, this time under a new narrative: x402 tokens. But what exactly is x402? Should investors rush into this trend—or is it just another bubble waiting to burst?
This article explores the opportunities and potential risks, drawing from the latest ecosystem data and expert opinions shared on X.
Why x402 Tokens Attracted Massive Capital in October
The x402 is not a typical token. It is an open payment protocol for AI agents and APIs, enabling them to perform automated transactions without requiring accounts, signups, or API keys.
The name “x402” comes from the HTTP status code 402 – “Payment Required”, a classic web standard now reimagined to transform any web request into an instant payment transaction using stablecoins like USDC, across any blockchain.
The funding wave originated from a series of major events in recent months. In September, Coinbase and Cloudflare officially launched the x402 Foundation to promote integration of the protocol into the Agents SDK and Model Context Protocol (MCP).
This allows AI agents to handle flexible payments, from micropayments below one cent to deferred payment agreements, while resolving disputes and aggregating invoices for data-scraping agents.
Then, in October, venture fund a16z revisited Gartner’s forecast that by 2030, machine customers will directly influence or participate in $30 trillion worth of purchases. a16z emphasized the significance of x402, AI agents, and the collaboration between Coinbase and Cloudflare.
a16z 2025 Report on AI Agents. Source: a16z
“Protocol standards such as x402 are emerging as a potential financial backbone for autonomous AI agents, helping them make micro-transactions, access APIs, and settle payments without intermediaries — an economy that Gartner estimates could reach $30 trillion by 2030,” a16z reported.
These announcements fueled strong momentum across the x402 ecosystem. According to x402scan, since Coinbase’s launch in May, the ecosystem has recorded 1.38 million transactions, $1.48 million in volume, over 72,500 buyers, and 1,000 sellers.
Global Statistics for the x402 Ecosystem. Source: x402scan
Investor interest also surged. The x402 category on CoinGecko reached nearly $800 million in market capitalization, after a 350% jump within 24 hours, with daily trading volume surpassing $230 million.
Top x402 Ecosystem Coins. Source: CoinGecko
Leading projects in trading activity include EigenCloud (formerly EigenLayer), Ping, and PayAI Network.
“If x402 takes off, it will completely change the business model of the internet,” Investor Ryan Adams predicted.
Expert Debate: x402 Token – Potential or Bubble?
Experts on X remain divided, though most are optimistic about the long-term potential of x402 tokens.
Supporters argue that x402’s strength lies in its ability to simplify and standardize payments for AI agents. Traditional payment methods are slow, prone to chargebacks, and require manual intervention. In contrast, x402 uses cryptocurrency to enable instant, trustless payments between AI agents and API providers.
Others highlight the low market capitalization of current x402 tokens, suggesting strong upside potential.
“These are the current x402 coins on CoinGecko. The highest market cap is barely over $50 million. The majority are under $10 million. The upside is absolutely incredible here,” Investor Otto Suwen said.
However, risks are far from negligible. Jarrod Watts, a builder at Abstract, classifies x402 tokens into three categories:
API tokens that require payments in their own native currency.
Facilitator tokens that are used to pay for services.
Speculative tokens with no real value—similar to earlier “AI coins.”
Watts warned that the community might promote trend-driven tokens to boost prices without real utility.
“I suspect we’ll see a new wave of AI coins pop up over the next few weeks to ride this hype. And, again, they’ll likely be completely pointless, but ‘would you rather be right or rich?’” Jarrod Watts said.
Analyst 0xJeff also referred to these as “x402 memecoins,” noting that only projects with real or near-commercialized products will likely survive in the long run.
More critically, the protocol remains new and untested in terms of security.
In April, BeInCrypto reported a serious vulnerability affecting Crypto-MCP (Model Context Protocols) like x402. The flaw could allow hackers to reveal seed phrases or reroute blockchain transactions through LLM-based manipulations—without the user’s knowledge.
