The "Payment Railway" of the Agent Economy: Who Will Become Web3's Stripe?

When billions of AI transactions are completed automatically in the background, the form of payment infrastructure will be fundamentally rewritten. Web3 is not about dismantling Stripe and banks, but about providing machines with a new, programmable, non-intermediated clearing system.

Agent economy is disrupting traditional business assumptions. No longer is it humans operating step-by-step and confirming transaction by transaction; instead, AI Agents autonomously handle service integration, credit assessment, order placement, payment authorization, and settlement—this is called M2M (machine-to-machine) business closed-loop.

The question is: when your Agent needs to automatically call 100 APIs, purchase 1,000 resources, and settle payments across 5 blockchains, the existing payment infrastructure completely collapses. Stripe is designed for humans, not machines. Bank transfers take 3-5 seconds, but Agents need millisecond-level speed. Credit cards have KYC barriers that AI cannot bypass autonomously.

This is why the entire Web3 is shifting from “speculating on coins” to “payment infrastructure.” OpenAI, Stripe, Google, Coinbase, Anthropic are competing to define the underlying protocols of the Agent economy—because whoever controls payments, controls the traffic and revenue rights for the next decade.

Two Parallel Payment Tracks: Fiat vs Stablecoin Complementary Logic

Many people misunderstand this. It’s not a zero-sum game where “stablecoins will replace Stripe,” but a differentiation of two payment tracks.

Why traditional fiat payments will remain dominant long-term

E-commerce, SaaS, enterprise procurement, healthcare payments—these real-world transactions account for 99% of global commerce, totaling over a hundred trillion dollars. These scenarios require:

• Consumer protection and dispute resolution mechanisms
• Tax and compliance reporting
• Invoicing and accounting records
• Reversible payments and refunds

Stablecoins cannot provide these. USDC transfers are just transfers, with no refund button, which is a critical flaw in healthcare and airline sectors. Moreover, regulation is not fully in place—while the US stablecoin bill has bipartisan support and EU’s MiCA is in effect, enterprises still trust Stripe more than on-chain settlement.

So what is the fiat track in the Agent era?

Projects like Skyfire, Payman, Catena Labs are doing the same thing: building a financial governance layer for machines. They do not change the underlying payment track (still Stripe/Circle), but add an “AI smart wallet” layer on top:

• Skyfire: Each user generates a Buyer/Seller Agent, replacing API keys with JWT credentials, supporting multi-source top-ups via cards, bank transfers, stablecoins. Your Agent can automatically pay to access any Web2 website or API.
• Payman: Enterprises set payment permissions and quota rules for AI, enabling automatic payroll, reimbursements, and vendor payments—without overreach. Like installing an AI co-pilot for CFOs.
• Catena Labs: More ambitious—building an “Agent bank” including custody, clearing, compliance, aiming to give AI its own fiat account.

These projects are not revolutionary themselves; their true value lies in AI-automating traditional financial compliance, risk control, and accounting capabilities—who can do this most transparently, automatically, and trusted by enterprises will earn management fees.

Why stablecoin payments are only suitable for high-frequency small-value transactions

On the other hand, stablecoin payments are naturally suited for high-frequency, cross-border, on-chain native transactions:

• API call costs (less than $0.01)
• Micro-payments for cross-border B2B
• IoT device automatic settlements
• Agent-to-Agent automatic payments

The key issue: traditional payment gateways cannot handle $0.01 transactions—fees would eat up the cost. The x402 protocol, with on-chain native settlement, can reduce costs to $0.000001, opening up new possibilities for the Agent economy.

The x402 Winning Strategy: Who is the Stripe of the Agent Era?

If stablecoin payments are a “native settlement track,” then x402 is the “toll road operator” on that track.

What is x402?

Simply put: it revives the “402 Payment Required” status code from the HTTP protocol of over 30 years ago, transforming it from an abandoned idea into an executable payment handshake mechanism. The workflow:

1. Agent initiates a request → server responds with 402 status + payment parameters
2. Agent signs USDC transaction and broadcasts it (no manual intervention)
3. Server verifies on-chain transaction and immediately releases resources

What does this mean?

• No accounts: Agents don’t need to register, log in, or bind cards—pay directly
• No API keys: The traditional API model collapses, replaced by “pay-per-use”
• Millisecond settlement: Transactions confirmed in seconds, unlike banks’ 3-5 days
• Global native: USDC on Solana, Base, Polygon all the same, no cross-border friction

According to the latest data from x402scan, the ecosystem is rapidly differentiating into four layers:

Layer 1: Client-side (who pays)

• thirdweb Client SDK: the standard for the ecosystem, the first choice for developers
• Nuwa AI: enables Agents to pay for services without coding
• Currently SDK-based, lacking an “OS-level Agent client” or “multi-wallet manager”

Layer 2: Server-side (who receives) Focuses on tools like web crawlers, storage, data APIs:

• AIsa: top in x402 transaction volume, providing multi-dimensional paid resource calls for Agents
• Firecrawl: web parsing API, widely used by Agents
• Pinata: Web3 storage, covering real underlying costs
• Gloria AI: real-time market signals, intelligence source for trading Agents

But this is an illusion. Truly high-value server-side services should be: market data, GPU inference, real-world task APIs—these are still largely undeveloped.

Layer 3: Payment execution layer (Facilitator—most profitable) This is the closest to “income” within the x402 ecosystem. Facilitators verify payments, submit on-chain transactions, generate settlement proofs, and control flow entry points and settlement fees.

Leading Facilitators have differentiated:

• Coinbase CDP: enterprise-grade trusted executor, zero-fee on Base mainnet + built-in OFAC/KYT checks, best for production
• PayAI Facilitator: multi-chain coverage (Solana/Polygon/Base/Avalanche), fastest-growing multi-chain executor
• Daydreams: first to combine payment execution with LLM inference routing, fastest-growing “AI inference payment processor”

The problem: most Facilitators are essentially just “payment executors,” with low barriers to entry and high homogeneity. Long-term survival depends on capabilities such as:

• Reliability (whose service is most dependable)
• Compliance (strictest risk control)
• Value-added services (arbitration, vault management, reputation systems)

Coinbase has a clear lead, but it is also contemplating how to avoid marginalization—its answer is to expand into a comprehensive platform combining “Facilitator + financial management + reputation system.”

Layer 4: Blockchain settlement layer Although x402 is chain-agnostic, current settlement mainly focuses on two chains:

• Base: officially promoted by Coinbase, native USDC, stable fees, highest transaction volume and seller count
• Solana: high throughput, low latency, fastest growth in high-frequency inference and real-time API scenarios

As more Facilitators expand, settlement will trend toward multi-chain, but the duopoly of Base and Solana is unlikely to be broken in the short term.

Complete Diagram of the Agent Payment Protocol: 6 Major Standard Power Struggles

Supporting the Agent economy are not only x402. The entire ecosystem needs a full protocol stack, from “capability discovery” to “payment delivery”:

Layer 1: Capability Discovery

• A2A (initiated by Google, donated to Linux Foundation): communication standard between Agents, based on HTTP+JSON-RPC, enabling native collaboration across vendors
• MCP (by Anthropic): unified interface connecting LLMs to external tools and data, adopted by multiple AI firms, becoming the de facto agent-tool interaction standard

Layer 2: Identity and Trust

• ERC-8004 (MetaMask/Ethereum Foundation/Google/Coinbase): cross-platform standard for on-chain identity, reputation, and verification for AI Agents, including Identity Registry, Reputation Registry, Validation Registry. Currently under review, indicating the technical plan is stable but still open for feedback.

Layer 3: Ordering Standard

• ACP (OpenAI×Stripe joint): Agentic Commerce Protocol, standardizing checkout processes for Agents, including product info, price verification, settlement logic, and payment proof. Already used in ChatGPT Instant Checkout, the earliest deployable standard.

Layer 4: Payment Authorization

• AP2 (Google and multiple payment networks): digital authorization tokens binding user payment intent, scope, and compliance identity, supporting credit cards, bank transfers, real-time payments, stablecoins. Essentially a universal Agent authorization framework for various payment channels.

Layer 5: On-chain Settlement

• x402 (proposed by Coinbase): revives HTTP 402 as a programmable on-chain payment handshake, supporting native API calls with stablecoins like USDC, the only protocol not relying on banks or card organizations.

These six protocols serve distinct functions, forming the nervous system of the Agent economy. But the power struggle is fierce: Google aims to control Agent communication and payment authorization via A2A/AP2; OpenAI/Stripe seek to monopolize order standards via ACP; Coinbase wants to dominate stablecoin settlement via x402; Ethereum aspires to be the identity backbone via ERC-8004…

Who will ultimately win?

Currently, there is no single winner. A more likely scenario is layered monopoly:

• Google controls upstream standards (A2A discovery, AP2 authorization)
• OpenAI/Stripe control midstream (ACP ordering)
• Coinbase controls settlement (x402)
• Ethereum provides the foundational layer (ERC-8004 identity)

But power will increasingly concentrate downstream—who controls the last mile (funds settlement) will hold the pricing power.

Business Layer Value Capture Game: From Payment Execution to Machine Governance

Returning to the L3 business payment layer’s four players. They all seem to do “payments,” but each has its own approach:

Skyfire: Web2 “identity + automatic billing” gateway Core: “KYA + Pay” combo. Provides JWT credential system for any website or API, enabling Agents to pay automatically as if using API keys. Most compatible with Web2, but identity and asset custody are centralized. Suitable for content sites, data APIs, SaaS tools rapidly integrating into Agent payment ecosystems.

Payman: Enterprise AI financial steward Not just a “payment gateway,” but “funds permission management.” Enterprises can set quotas, policies, approval rules for AI, which can automatically handle payroll, reimbursements, vendor payments—without overreach. Very attractive to traditional finance departments—AI becomes smarter within a framework, humans retain ultimate control.

Catena Labs: “TLS/EMV layer for Agents” Most ambitious design. Standardizes Agent identity and authorization chains via ACK-ID, decouples payment requests from underlying settlement networks via ACK-Pay. Goal: become the “universal protocol layer” in the Agent economy, with long-term interoperability as a selling point.

Nevermined: “Metering + Billing” on top of payments Most clever. Not competing in the payment track (Stripe or USDC), but doing metering on top of payments. API calls are automatically measured, billed, split, and audited. Short-term: promote AI SaaS commercialization; mid-term: support A2A marketplace; long-term: become the “micro-payment layer” for machine economy.

All four projects inevitably need to interface with fiat—via Stripe, Circle, or banks. But their real value lies in solving machine-native needs that traditional finance cannot cover:

• Identity mapping (Web3/AI to compliant identity)
• Permission governance (Agents can spend but not overreach)
• Programmatic risk control (automatic verification, anomaly detection)
• Responsibility attribution (who orders, who authorizes, who bears responsibility)

Who can do this most transparently, automatically, and trusted by enterprises will become the “CFO assistant” of the Agent era.

The Ending: Differentiation and Fusion of Payment Infrastructure

We are witnessing a historic differentiation of payment infrastructure:

Scenario 1: Low-frequency, non-micro, real-world transactions

• Procurement, SaaS subscriptions, physical e-commerce, government procurement
• Track: Stripe → Payman/Skyfire → Enterprise Agents
• Value chain: Stripe earns acquiring fees; Payman/Skyfire earn management fees
• Key: Who best integrates AI financial governance with fiat compliance

Scenario 2: High-frequency, micro-payments, digital-native transactions

• API billing, resource flow payments, IoT device transactions, cross-platform Agent calls
• Track: x402 → USDC → on-chain settlement
• Value chain: Facilitators earn execution fees; x402 protocol earns network fees
• Key: Who can build the most complete “client + server + execution + underlying chain” ecosystem

The ultimate fusion of these two tracks: projects like Skyfire/Payman are beginning to support x402 calls at the bottom layer—enabling enterprise Agents to handle both traditional fiat transactions (with compliance and invoicing) and on-chain native transactions (with speed and global reach).

Who will be the winners?

• Fiat track: Stripe remains dominant; Payman/Skyfire act as “AI layer” coexisting, similar to AWS and Salesforce
• Stablecoin track: Coinbase controls settlement via x402, but cannot monopolize—multi-chain Facilitators like PayAI will compete through “multi-chain coverage,” eventually forming a “top 1-2 + long tail” pattern
• Biggest winners: Not just payment tools, but upper-layer applications that can retain high-frequency repeat users—like OS-level Agent clients, robots/IoT wallets, vertical SaaS

The real role of Web3 in this landscape:

It’s not about “destroying traditional payments,” but about providing the Agent era with three things traditional finance cannot:

1. Programmable settlement (smart contracts execute automatically, no third-party custody)
2. Verifiable identity (immutable on-chain reputation and execution records)
3. Global stablecoins (instant cross-border settlement, no FX risk)

When billions of microtransactions run automatically in the background of Agents daily, the face of payment infrastructure will be completely transformed—payment will shift from a “visible financial process” to an “invisible economic nervous system.” Those who first provide trust, coordination, and optimization protocols and companies will become the core infrastructure of global commerce in the next decade.

The ultimate truth: this is not just about payment optimization, but about reconstructing the entire business order driven by AI. Every link—from discovery, trust, ordering, authorization, to settlement—is being redefined. Stripe once changed internet commerce by “enabling any company to accept payments online”; now Web3 is doing “enabling any Agent to autonomously complete the entire business cycle.” The game has just begun.