ShardLab demos 'x402'…"AI-based stablecoin payment technology"

Global web3 venture capital (VC) Hashed's subsidiary ShardLab will demonstrate a demo version of the AI agent-based stablecoin payment technology 'x402 protocol'.

ShardLab announced on the 9th that it will present the x402 demo version at 'Solana Breakpoint', held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from the 11th to the 13th. Breakpoint is Solana (SOL)'s annual conference.

x402 is a stablecoin payment system independently developed by ShardLab. ShardLab's x402 supports AI agents to automatically handle stablecoin payments in web environments. A ShardLab official explained, "x402 is a protocol that implements the existing web standard HTTP status code '402 (Payment Required)' as an actual payment trigger," and "if a payment request signal occurs during the service request process, the AI agent pays on its own and performs the request again."

Global companies such as Google and Coinbase are also recently developing stablecoin payment systems using x402 technology. That is why ShardLab is conducting payment infrastructure research and demonstration development centered on x402. Specifically, ShardLab is testing 'Human-to-Agent (H2A·Human-to-Agent)' and 'Agent-to-Agent (A2A·Agent-to-Agent)' automated payment systems based on the x402 protocol.

ShardLab is focusing on whether x402 can operate as a payment layer that responds to changes in Internet revenue models. ShardLab believes that with the spread of generative AI such as ChatGPT weakening existing advertising- and subscription-centered Internet revenue models, new payment technologies like x402 will emerge.

Currently, ShardLab's x402 research centers on a structure in which an AI agent automatically handles the entire process including payment. When using repetitive services such as airline ticket reservations or data API (application programming interface) calls, it is key that the AI agent can handle the whole payment process without problems. A ShardLab official said, "We are reviewing basic elements such as API gateway, wallet, and policy execution module based on scenarios where payments, calls, and linkage between agents are possible."

In addition, ShardLab is closely examining whether x402 can meet technical requirements such as stablecoin-based payment, multi-chain support, and trust verification systems. ShardLab said it is also attempting to incorporate cryptographic technologies such as zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) to respond to potential privacy protection demands in future AI agent-based economic activities.

Meanwhile, this research was partially disclosed through the technical report 'The Crypto Rail Moving the AI Train: x420(The Crypto Rail on an AI Train: x402)' jointly published by Hashed and ShardLab last month. ShardLab said, "We are also reviewing the operational and regulatory requirements necessary in the process of applying the technology in practice."