
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Micropayments were always meant to be part of the internet, but the technology never existed to make them work.
Until now. David sits down with Sam Ragsdale, CEO of Merit Systems, to unpack x402, a new protocol reviving the long-dormant “Payment Required” status code to enable crypto-powered microtransactions across the web.
They explore how x402 could transform how machines, AI agents, and humans pay for internet resources, reshape online business models beyond ads, and unlock a new economy of autonomous agents and programmable commerce.
------
📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24
https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium
------
BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN
https://bankless.cc/fraxnet
🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN
https://bankless.cc/unichain
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP
https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep
💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY
https://bankless.cc/bit-digital
We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors
------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:10 What is x402?
6:19 Internet Micropayments
9:45 x402 Encryption
12:10 x402 Inception
15:20 How x402 Transactions Work
27:02 x402 Experiments
39:46 Paywalls
43:53 A New Internet?
47:12 Call to Builders
49:21 Merit Systems
53:56 Resources
55:36 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
Sam Ragsdale
https://x.com/samrags_
Merit Systems
https://www.merit.systems/
x402scan
https://www.x402scan.com/
Coinbase x402
https://www.coinbase.com/en-pt/developer-platform/products/x402
Stratechery - The Agentic Web and Original Sin
https://stratechery.com/2025/the-agentic-web-and-original-sin/
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
By Bankless4.7
10101,010 ratings
Micropayments were always meant to be part of the internet, but the technology never existed to make them work.
Until now. David sits down with Sam Ragsdale, CEO of Merit Systems, to unpack x402, a new protocol reviving the long-dormant “Payment Required” status code to enable crypto-powered microtransactions across the web.
They explore how x402 could transform how machines, AI agents, and humans pay for internet resources, reshape online business models beyond ads, and unlock a new economy of autonomous agents and programmable commerce.
------
📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24
https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium
------
BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN
https://bankless.cc/fraxnet
🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN
https://bankless.cc/unichain
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP
https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep
💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY
https://bankless.cc/bit-digital
We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors
------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:10 What is x402?
6:19 Internet Micropayments
9:45 x402 Encryption
12:10 x402 Inception
15:20 How x402 Transactions Work
27:02 x402 Experiments
39:46 Paywalls
43:53 A New Internet?
47:12 Call to Builders
49:21 Merit Systems
53:56 Resources
55:36 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
Sam Ragsdale
https://x.com/samrags_
Merit Systems
https://www.merit.systems/
x402scan
https://www.x402scan.com/
Coinbase x402
https://www.coinbase.com/en-pt/developer-platform/products/x402
Stratechery - The Agentic Web and Original Sin
https://stratechery.com/2025/the-agentic-web-and-original-sin/
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

1,217 Listeners

913 Listeners

647 Listeners

741 Listeners

1,845 Listeners

289 Listeners

268 Listeners

243 Listeners

168 Listeners

109 Listeners

437 Listeners

136 Listeners

275 Listeners

50 Listeners

66 Listeners