Coinbase CEO Says Subscription Model Could Change with x402

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that stablecoins and the x402 payment protocol could introduce a new model for content consumption on the internet. This structure could reduce the necessity for monthly subscriptions for accessing individual content and make small per-use payments more practical. Armstrong argued that the x402 protocol would decrease friction in the payment process for businesses and users. By enabling usage-based micropayments, it could establish a more flexible framework for digital content sales. He mentioned that the current subscription model for online news content could be questioned, and users should not have to purchase a monthly subscription just to read a single article. Instead, he explained that AI intermediaries could acquire the relevant content on behalf of users and make payments to publishers only for that content. Coinbase introduced the x402 protocol in May 2025. The system is inspired by the HTTP 402 status code. For example, when the price of a newspaper article is $0.25, users can transact through an AI intermediary. If the user has given the necessary permission, the AI intermediary can send a payment approval of $0.25 to the publisher in stablecoin in response to the payment request. This approach comes at a time when Coinbase and other major tech companies are developing infrastructure for AI payments. In June, Coinbase aimed to connect requests from publishers through AI intermediaries to the x402 revenue model in collaboration with Amazon Web Services.