HTTP 402 + USDC: Pay-per-use AI APIs for Autonomous Agents

The Problem with API Keys for AI Agents

AI agents need to call external APIs autonomously. But traditional API key auth has a fundamental mismatch:

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  Who manages the keys? The agent can't sign up for accounts


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  How does billing work? Subscription tiers don't fit pay-per-task usage


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  What about multi-agent systems? Keys get shared, leaked, revoked

There's a better way: let agents pay directly, per request, with crypto.

x402: HTTP 402 as a Payment Protocol

The HTTP 402 status code has been "reserved for future use" since 1991.

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