Base x402 protocol adds batched settlement to enable sub-fraction-of-a-cent AI payments

Base’s developer Jesse Pollak announced on May 13 that the x402 payment protocol now supports batched settlement, enabling ultra-micro payments (under $0.0001) by bundling many transactions to share on‑chain fees. The feature targets high-frequency AI agent workloads (compute/inference) and layers on recent AWS integration (x402 settlements on Base in ~200 ms). x402 already processed over 169 million payments (~$48M volume) in its first year, with ~95% flowing via Base. The update makes sub‑cent per-call pricing economically viable and strengthens Base/Ethereum L2s’ utility versus competing solutions from Stripe/Tempo (MPP) and Circle’s Nanopayments. Market impact: greater on‑chain payment volume, higher stablecoin flow on Base/Ethereum, and potential increased developer adoption of Base and related L2 infrastructure — a constructive development for ETH ecosystem demand dynamics.