Criptomoneda
What is x402 and PING?
Compartir publicación
En resumen
Learn how x402 enables instant AI agent payments, what PING and PayAI tokens are, and how to buy PING using Trust Wallet
Key Takeaways:
x402 lets AI agents pay for services instantly using USDC, settling transactions in two seconds for under $0.0001 in fees on Base.
PING was the first token minted through x402, bringing early attention to the protocol and proving it could handle high transaction volumes.
PayAI is a facilitator that handles over 14% of x402 payments, verifying transactions and settling them on the blockchain for businesses.
When AI agents need to purchase data, computing power, or API access, traditional payment systems create friction that slows down autonomous operations. AI agents conducting autonomous transactions need payment infrastructure that works as fast as they do, settling in seconds rather than days. The x402 protocol activates a dormant internet standard to let AI agents autonomously pay for services using stablecoins. In this article, you'll learn about PING and PayAI, the technical mechanics of x402, how these tokens function, and what the competition between them tells us about the maturing AI agent ecosystem.
How Does x402 Work?
The x402 protocol activates an internet standard that's been unused for thirty years. In the 1990s, when Tim Berners-Lee and his team created the internet, they included HTTP 402 as a "Payment Required" status code. The idea was simple: servers could ask for payment before delivering content. Without the right technology, the code stayed dormant until Coinbase launched x402.
When you interact with an x402-enabled service, you send a request to an API endpoint or resource. If payment is required, the server sends back a 402 response with details about the price, usually in USDC. You sign the payment with your wallet and resend the request with an X-PAYMENT header. A facilitator service checks that your payment is valid and settles it on the blockchain. Once confirmed, you get access to what you requested.
The process happens over regular HTTP, which means it works with any existing web infrastructure. Developers can add x402 support to their servers with minimal changes. The protocol handles the blockchain complexity behind the scenes.
Why Do AI Agents Need Different Payment Rails?
Traditional payment systems weren't built for machines making autonomous decisions. When an AI agent needs to access an API, it can't fill out forms, verify email addresses, or store credit card details. API keys and subscription models assume a human is in control, managing access and handling renewals.
The x402 protocol removes these barriers. On Base, transactions cost less than $0.0001 in gas fees and settle in roughly two seconds. There are no protocol fees. Once a payment is confirmed on the blockchain, it's final with no chargebacks. With x402, an AI agent can pay cents or even fractions of a cent to access data, computing resources, or specialized services.
Who's Behind x402?
Coinbase built x402, but the protocol has support from major players across tech and finance. Google integrated x402 into its Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), where it is the stablecoin payment option. Coinbase and Cloudflare created the x402 Foundation to keep the protocol open and neutral. Visa added x402 support through its Trusted Agent Protocol.
What is PING?
PING is a cryptocurrency token on the Base blockchain. PING was created to demonstrate how the x402 protocol could be used to mint tokens through payments. When people started minting PING, it created the first major wave of activity on x402. Initially, the token's price increased more than 20 times from the original minting cost. The market cap reached over $80 million before settling to around $30 million to $34 million.
PING is part of the Ping Observer project, which focuses on monitoring AI agent activity. The token's surge brought significant attention to the x402 protocol and proved the system could handle high transaction volumes.
How to buy PING with USDC
You can swap crypto using Trust Wallet via our trusted partners. Here’s how:
Select “Swap” from the Trust Wallet home screen.
Ensure choose USDC as your token to swap from, and the respective chain you have it on.
Ensure Base is selected in the “To” network field, and choose PING as your token. Check your swap settings
Enter the amount of PING you would like to swap.
Select “Continue” and complete the remaining steps.
Where x402 Goes Next
The x402 protocol is building infrastructure for AI agent payments with support from Coinbase, Google, Cloudflare, and Visa. Both PING and PayAI have contributed to the ecosystem's growth in different ways. PING demonstrated the protocol's minting capabilities and generated the first major wave of transaction activity. PayAI expanded the infrastructure layer by providing payment verification and settlement services for businesses.
The protocol developers are working on Version 2, which will introduce clearer architecture, support for deferred payments in high-frequency scenarios, and universal network naming to handle multiple blockchains. The x402 ecosystem market cap has grown past $800 million as more developers build services that accept these payments.
As AI agents become more autonomous, payment systems need to keep pace. The x402 protocol provides the foundation for AI agents to transact at the speed they operate, removing the friction that traditional payment methods create.
Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes and not investment advice. Web3 and crypto come with risk.
Please do your own research with respect to interacting with any Web3 applications or crypto assets. View our terms of service.
Join the Trust Wallet community on Telegram. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Warpcast, and Tiktok