ERC-8183: Agentic Commerce vs x402
The map lists them as complementary: sites and agents commonly implement both.
| ERC-8183: Agentic Commerce ERC-8183 | x402 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifecycle step | 7 Pay: Settle the bill | 7 Pay: Settle the bill |
| Answers | How can two agents (a client and a provider) settle a job on-chain, with funds held in escrow and released only once an evaluator attests the work was done? | How can an HTTP client pay per-request or per-resource, in stablecoins, without accounts, API keys, or signup? |
| Governed by | Ethereum EIP/ERC process (Ethereum Magicians discussion + EIPs repository); status Draft, an ERC Standards Track proposal, not yet Final | x402 Foundation, a Series of LF Projects, LLC (Linux Foundation); operational launch announced 2026-07-14; Executive Director Michael Hursta from 2026-10-01; 50+ members |
| Status (issuer's words) | Draft ERC — 'This specification defines the Agentic Commerce Protocol: a job with escrowed budget...' | Open, neutral standard for internet-native payments |
| Version | Draft, created 2026-02-25 (2026-02-25) | x402 protocol specification v2, transports-v2/http.md |
| Form / transport | on-chain registry | HTTP header |
| Found at | none — no well-known file; discovery is by contract address/ABI | none — signalled per-request via the 402 status code, not a fixed well-known path |
| Implementation | prototype | multi-implementation — x402 Foundation (x402.org live dashboard) |
| Evidence | 1 verified, 1 reported | 5 verified |
| Primary use case | Accept payments from agents | Accept payments from agents |
| Last verified | 2026-10-23 (current) | 2026-10-23 (current) |
| Specification | https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8183 | https://github.com/x402-foundation/x402/blob/main/specs/transports-v2/http.md |
When to use which
- Choose ERC-8183: Agentic Commerce when your question is “How can two agents (a client and a provider) settle a job on-chain, with funds held in escrow and released only once an evaluator attests the work was done?” and you accept its maturity: status "Draft ERC — 'This specification defines the Agentic Commerce Protocol: a job with escrowed budget...'", implementation prototype.
- Choose x402 when your question is “How can an HTTP client pay per-request or per-resource, in stablecoins, without accounts, API keys, or signup?” and you accept its maturity: status "Open, neutral standard for internet-native payments", implementation multi-implementation (x402 Foundation (x402.org live dashboard)).
Read the full articles
- ERC-8183: Agentic Commerce: How can two agents (a client and a provider) settle a job on-chain, with funds held in escrow and released only once an evaluator attests the work was done?
- x402: How can an HTTP client pay per-request or per-resource, in stablecoins, without accounts, API keys, or signup?