This article analyzes the x402 protocol, designed for payments in the AI agent economy, revealing a drastic drop in daily transactions and volume despite its robust backing. The lack of adoption is attributed to the distinction between protocol and product, and the complexity of setting up wallets for agents.
This report details the live state of the AI agent economy in May 2026, focusing on operational APIs, platforms, and protocols. It highlights the x402 HTTP-native payment protocol, showcasing its transaction volume and cumulative value, and reviews several agent-native marketplaces, noting their current activity and features.
Cinderwright has expanded its indexing to include all three major AI agent payment protocols: x402, MPP, and L402, covering 1,551 services in total. This new platform provides a single search for AI agent services, addressing the current fragmentation where existing directories are protocol-specific.
The article argues that recent agent payment infrastructures like Circle Agent Stack, Google Pay.sh, and AWS Bedrock AgentCore are not competitors but rather form a technological stack. It challenges the "protocol war" narrative, suggesting a more integrated approach to agent payments.