For decades, HTTP 402 Payment Required has been reserved for future use. x402 unlocks it, and absolves the internet of its original sin.
HTTP 402 is a standard, but rarely used, HTTP response status code indicating that payment is required to access a resource.
In x402, this status code is activated to:
The primary purpose of HTTP 402 is to enable frictionless, API-native payments for accessing web resources, especially for:
Using the 402 status code keeps x402 protocol natively web-compatible and easy to integrate into any HTTP-based service.
HTTP 402 is the foundation of the x402 protocol, enabling services to declare payment requirements directly within HTTP responses. It: