Overview
- Coinbase Developer Platform announced Upto for x402, letting sellers set a maximum price and letting buyers preapprove a spending cap for each request.
- After a task completes, the server measures tokens used or compute time and charges the exact amount instead of a flat fee.
- The upgrade runs on an Ethereum Virtual Machine setup that supports all ERC-20 tokens and uses the CDP Facilitator so users do not pay gas.
- Coinbase said this removes a pricing bottleneck that blocked variable-cost services like large language model inference and complex queries.
- The protocol now operates under the Linux Foundation and the x402 Foundation, and Blockonomi reported the change seeks to revive usage that fell in early 2026.