AI agents in crypto explained: how bots get wallets and pay, and what can go wrong
An AI agent is software that takes actions on its own, not just answers questions. In crypto, agents hold wallets and pay for things in stablecoins, often through the x402 protocol, with spending limits their owners may or may not switch on.
What is x402? The HTTP payment protocol that lets AI agents pay per request
x402 is an open protocol that uses the web's "402 Payment Required" status code so apps and AI agents can pay for an API call or a web page in stablecoins, inside the request itself, with no account or card form.
Mastercard lets AI agents pay their own way: nine payments, one budget, no invoices
Mastercard opened early access to Agent Pay for Machines, which lets AI agents buy services on their own within a spending limit set by a human. It runs on the x402 standard and can settle in cash or stablecoins on Base.
Polygon claims 11 million payments per second. Almost none of them touch the chain
Polygon Labs says its new agent pay channels processed more than 11 million payment updates per second in tests. The number is real, but it measures offchain hubs on a devnet, not Polygon's blockchain.