Cloudflare Unveils U.S. Dollar Stablecoin for AI-Powered Internet Economy

U.S.-listed cloud company Cloudflare (NET) announced plans to intorduve a U.S. dollar stablecoin for what it calls the "agentic web," where autonomous AI agents perform tasks like booking flights or ordering groceries.

The company said on Thursday that the token, dubbed NET Dollar, will enable instant and secure transactions for software agents, developers and creators. Cloudflare framed the initiative as a shift away from the ad-driven economics that have defined the internet for decades.

"The Internet’s next business model will be powered by pay-per-use, fractional payments, and microtransactions—tools that shift incentives toward original, creative content that actually adds value," Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, said in a statement.

"By using our global network, we are going to help modernize the financial rails needed to move money at the speed of the Internet, helping to create a more open and valuable Internet for everyone," he added.

The firm said itis also contributing to standards such as the Agent Payments Protocol and x402, which aim to make sending and receiving payments online simpler.

With the move, Cloudflare aims to join a roster of fintechs and payments firms that ventured into the red-hot stablecoin trend that's shaking up cross-border payments. These cryptocurrencies, with prices tied to fait money like the U.S. dollar, offer a cheaper, faster alternative to traditional payment rails using blockchains for settlement. For example, Stripe is building its own blockchain, Tempo, for stablecoin transactions and acquired stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge for $1.1 billion.

It's potentially a huge market: stablecoin transaction volumes could reach $1 trillion by 2030, driven by institutional adoption, FX settlement and cross-border flows, trading firm Keyrock projected in a report.