Circle is advancing machine-to-machine micropayments through its integration of the Circle Gateway with the x402 ecosystem, enabling lightweight and efficient transactions for autonomous AI systems. The initiative aims to facilitate seamless crosschain payments and support new protocols like Google's A2A and AP2, fostering collaboration in the development of open financial infrastructure for AI agents.

HTTP 402, a long-forgotten status code meant for facilitating seamless online payments, is being revitalized through modern technologies like stablecoins and blockchain. The original vision for HTTP 402 aimed to enable micropayments as a native feature of the web, avoiding reliance on advertising-based revenue models, which has been hindered by technical and economic challenges since the 1990s. New standards propose a pathway to integrate payments directly into the web protocol, potentially transforming the online economy.