Jack Dorsey’s Block Joins x402 Foundation to Bring Bitcoin Lightning to AI Payments

• Jack Dorsey’s Block has joined the x402 Foundation and added Bitcoin Lightning support to the payment protocol.
• The integration enables fast, low-cost payments between AI agents and online services, including APIs, data, and other digital services.

Block, the payments company led by Jack Dorsey, has joined the x402 Foundation and contributed support for the Bitcoin Lightning Network to the open payment protocol as the company expands its work on payments between AI agents and online services.

Block announced the move on Sep. 24, saying Lightning is suited to the small, frequent payments expected from what it calls “agentic commerce.” The company’s contribution adds Bitcoin Lightning as another payment option for x402, an open standard that allows software agents and web services to make payments through ordinary internet requests.

Bitcoin Lightning Integrates With x402 Payment Network

x402 uses the HTTP 402 “Payment Required” response to handle payments. A service can request payment when an AI agent tries to access a paid API, dataset or digital service. The agent can then make the payment and retry the request with proof that the payment has been completed. The x402 website currently reports 75.41 million transactions and $24.24 million in volume over the previous 30 days, although those figures cover the entire x402 network and are not specific to Bitcoin or Lightning.

Block’s Lightning contribution is aimed at payments that need to be fast and inexpensive, particularly transactions involving small amounts. Steve Lee, head of Block’s Bitcoin development initiative Spiral, said bringing Lightning to x402 is a step toward making Bitcoin everyday money for people and the agents acting on their behalf.

The technical work is already visible in x402’s public repository. A September 23 commit added the specification for “exact Lightning on lnbtc.” However, the Lightning payment specification is still part of an evolving implementation. and reporting indicates that a Python implementation remains subject to review and real-node testing.

The Linux Foundation operates the x402 Foundation, which provides neutral governance for the payment standard. The Linux Foundation said the foundation had 40 members at its July operational launch, bringing together companies from payments, technology and cloud infrastructure.

Block’s addition gives x402 another route for settling payments in Bitcoin rather than a stablecoin or traditional payment method. The company has also been working on other infrastructure for AI-driven commerce, including its open-source Goose AI agent and participation in the Universal Commerce Protocol.

For now, the development is primarily an infrastructure and protocol expansion. It establishes a path for Bitcoin Lightning payments within x402, while broader adoption by AI agents and online services will depend on developers integrating and testing the new payment option.

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