XDC Network is expanding its artificial intelligence strategy by combining the x402 payment protocol with stablecoin settlement, aiming to give AI agents the ability to pay for digital services, complete purchases, and settle transactions without requiring traditional user accounts or direct human approval.
AI systems can already recommend products, organize tasks, and provide information, but many remain unable to independently complete payments. XDC Network is seeking to address that limitation through XDC AI, a payment framework built on its enterprise-focused, Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible blockchain.
XDC AI combines the open x402 payment standard with gasless USDC settlement, allowing AI agents to make automated payments for individual requests without conventional accounts, API keys, or direct human authorization.
The initiative is designed to support the emerging agentic economy, in which AI software could interact and transact with businesses, other AI agents, and users at machine speed. XDC Network said its infrastructure could enable autonomous systems to pay for application programming interface requests, purchase digital information, book services, and settle certain transactions in real time.
The company recently demonstrated its AI marketplace at an event in New York that attracted more than 100 representatives from banks, technology companies, venture capital firms, family offices, AI businesses, and other industry groups.
x402 Revives a Long-Unused Internet Payment Function
The x402 protocol was introduced as an open payment standard in 2025 and is based on the HTTP 402 Payment Required status code. The code had existed as a reserved internet function since the 1990s but had not developed into a widely adopted payment mechanism.
Under the x402 framework, an online server can charge a user for access to an API request, data service, or other digital resource. A client, including an autonomous AI agent, can then settle the payment using stablecoins as part of the same request.
The process is intended to remove the need for separate account registration, payment credentials, or manual approval. XDC Network is among the blockchain platforms developing infrastructure around the standard.
XDC AI incorporates gasless USDC settlement, meaning users and AI agents are not expected to pay blockchain network fees directly. The structure is intended to make small, frequent payments more practical and could support low-cost transactions for individual API calls and digital services.
The payment framework is intended to provide common settlement infrastructure that developers can use to build AI applications capable of paying for services, making reservations, and conducting transactions on demand.
Rather than requiring every business to develop its own payment system for AI agents, XDC Network plans to offer a shared marketplace and common infrastructure. The company said the model could be used by businesses ranging from coffee shops and delivery platforms to travel companies seeking to introduce autonomous AI services.
Stablecoin Infrastructure Supports Enterprise Expansion
XDC Network was launched in 2019 by XinFin and was co-founded by Atul Khekade and Ritesh Kakkad. The Layer-1 blockchain is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine and is aligned with ISO 20022, a financial messaging standard used across parts of the traditional banking system.
The network has focused on institutional applications involving trade finance, payments, and the tokenization of real-world assets. Its enterprise-oriented approach is now being extended to AI-driven financial activity.
XDC Tech, the network’s U.S.-based institutional division, has integrated Bridge, a Stripe company, into its stablecoin settlement strategy. The integration is expected to provide XDC AI with access to established stablecoin payment infrastructure and accelerate the network’s plans to become a settlement layer for automated AI transactions.
The gap in the emerging Agentic Economy needs new payment infrastructure.@XDCNetwork’s @xdcaitech pairs the open x402 standard with gasless @USDC settlement to let AI agents pay for services per request, without accounts or human sign-off.
Read more from the link in comment… pic.twitter.com/EOzLvvCqgw
— XDC AI (@xdcaitech) August 1, 2026
The company said the partnership could reduce the time and resources required to build payment infrastructure independently while supporting the broader development of machine-initiated commerce.
The Bridge integration is expected to strengthen XDC Network’s stablecoin settlement capabilities and support its objective of enabling AI agents to transact with businesses, users, and other autonomous systems.
During the New York demonstration, XDC presented examples in which an AI assistant could move beyond recommending a coffee shop or travel service and directly complete the associated transaction. The system can be connected through the XDC AI MCP connector API within an assistant’s settings, allowing compatible chatbots to access payment and transaction functions.
XDC Network also emphasized that compliance, risk management, and spending controls would be essential as autonomous software gains the ability to initiate financial transactions. The company said it had developed controls intended to establish spending limits and provide safeguards between AI systems and established financial infrastructure.
The initiative reflects a broader effort to create payment systems in which software can initiate transactions independently while operating within defined regulatory and risk-management frameworks.
