x402 stablecoin payments see 152% jump in monthly active senders to 43,100

The internet has had a “Payment Required” error code since the 1990s. For most of that time, almost nothing used it. That is changing quickly. Over the past 30 days, the number of active senders on x402, the stablecoin payment protocol built on that dormant code, rose 152% to 43,100. That means the user base more than doubled in a single month. The growth matters because x402 is not designed mainly for people. It targets software, especially AI agents that need to pay for data, compute, and services without a human stepping in each time. The numbers behind the surge The 43,100 figure reflects activity as of mid-October 2026. Three blockchains account for most of it. Base, Coinbase’s layer-2 network, leads with approximately 32,000 active senders. Algorand follows with around 9.1K, and Solana trails with about 1.6K. Base’s lead is not exactly a surprise. Coinbase launched x402 in May 2025, so Base is effectively playing on home turf. Transaction activity is substantial. x402.org reported 75.41 million transactions over the latest 30 days, with $24.24 million in settled volume. Most x402 transactions are micropayments, often ranging from $0.0001 to $0.10. The wider ecosystem now incl...