Block brings Bitcoin Lightning payments to x402 for AI agents

Block has joined the x402 Foundation and added Bitcoin Lightning support to the payment protocol as the company expands its push into payments for AI agents.

Block on Thursday said Lightning is suited to the low-cost, high-volume payments that agentic commerce will depend on.

“Bringing Lightning to x402 is a concrete step toward making Bitcoin everyday money for people and the agents acting on their behalf, and we’re excited to help the industry build on it,” said Steve Lee, head of Block’s Bitcoin development initiative Spiral.

x402 is an open payment standard that enables AI agents and web services to autonomously pay for API access, data and digital services.

Block joins Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and crypto companies including Coinbase and the Solana Foundation in backing the x402 Foundation, which launched in April under the Linux Foundation.

The move builds on Block’s participation in the Universal Commerce Protocol, an effort to enable AI-driven commerce for small businesses, according to the company’s announcement.