Market Shape
What can become pay-per-use
The strongest x402 candidates are resources with clear unit economics and immediate digital delivery.
- Data APIs Search results, web data, market data, blockchain analytics, identity signals, pricing feeds, or verification checks.
- AI and compute Model inference, image generation, code execution, transcription, rendering, or specialized agent tools.
- Content access Articles, research pages, files, premium snippets, creator resources, or paywalled documents.
- Developer utilities Linting, testing, enrichment, monitoring, scanning, hosting, or proxy services priced per operation.
- Bounties and incentives Task completion, issue resolution, reputation events, tips, rewards, or outcome-based payments.