Cloudflare, one of the largest internet connectivity companies, has unveiled Net Dollar—a stablecoin built from the ground up to power payments originated by AI agents. As the number of autonomous agents on the internet grows, Cloudflare aims to provide the underlying financial infrastructure necessary for these agents to conduct transactions without human intervention.
Why AI Agents Need Their Own Payment Rail
Current financial systems are ill-suited for the high-frequency, low-value payments that AI agents will increasingly require—such as booking a flight, purchasing a discounted item the moment it goes on sale, or automatically tipping creators for valuable content. Matthew Prince, Cloudflare's co-founder and CEO, emphasized: “The net will be led by pay-per-use, fractional payments, and microtransactions—tools that shift incentives toward original, creative content that actually adds value.”
Net Dollar is designed to seamlessly integrate with AI agent workflows, enabling these use cases with near-instant settlement and minimal friction.
Key Features of Net Dollar
Backed 1:1 by U.S. dollars, Net Dollar offers the following core capabilities:
- Instant transaction processing: Agents can execute payments in seconds, enabling time-sensitive operations like flash sales or last-minute bookings.
- Cross-border simplicity: No need for multiple bank accounts or currency conversion; the stablecoin works globally.
- Programmability: Smart contracts and APIs allow agents to autonomously trigger payments based on predefined conditions.
Partnership with Coinbase and the x402 Foundation
Cloudflare has already partnered with Coinbase to launch the x402 Foundation, an institution dedicated to promoting the x402 protocol. This protocol enables agents to transfer value within the current internet environment. Practical uses include automatic payment requests and tipping for interesting content, eliminating the friction that plagues traditional payment rails.
According to Cloudflare, Net Dollar will unlock new business models for creators, developers, and AI companies, driven entirely by agent-powered interactions. The stablecoin is currently under active development, with a public rollout expected in phases. Industry observers note that this marks a significant shift: stablecoins are no longer just tools for human finance—they are becoming the backbone of machine-to-machine economies.