Cloudflare unveils NET Dollar stablecoin for AI internet economy

The company introduced a dollar-backed stablecoin to power instant payments and microtransactions for AI-driven web platforms

by Blockworks /
article-image

CryptoFX/Shutterstock and Adobe modified by Blockworks

share

Cloudflare announced on Thursday that it will launch NET Dollar, a US dollar-backed stablecoin designed to support payments for the “agentic web,” a term describing an internet where autonomous AI agents transact on behalf of users.

The company said NET Dollar will allow instant, secure, and globally accessible transactions, enabling developers, creators, and AI systems to monetize content and services through microtransactions. Personal agents could use it to book flights or order groceries in real time, while business agents might be instructed to pay suppliers automatically once a delivery is confirmed.

The initiative marks a shift from the ad-based business model that has dominated the internet for decades. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said the company’s goal is to provide “financial rails” that match the speed of the modern web, supporting fractional payments that reward originality and sustain creativity.

NET Dollar is also being positioned as a foundation for new business models that reward originality. Creators would be compensated for unique content, developers could monetize APIs and applications, and AI firms would be expected to pay back into the ecosystem by compensating content sources.

To support interoperability, Cloudflare is contributing to open standards such as the Agent Payments Protocol and x402, designed to make sending and receiving payments simpler across geographies and currencies.

This is a developing story.


This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor Jeffrey Albus before publication.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Flying_Tulip.png

Research

Flying Tulip's perpetual put option provides real principal protection, but investors must pay a valuation premium today for products that have to be built over the next 24 months. This structure works best as a stablecoin substitute where the put allows continuous monitoring—accept opportunity cost in exchange for asymmetric upside if the team executes on its ambitious cross-collateral architecture.

article-image

As flows consolidate and volatility fades, finding edge now means knowing which games are still worth playing

article-image

Value distribution came to $1.9 billion distributed in Q3, though total revenues have yet to beat 2021 heights

article-image

MegaETH public sale auction ends tomorrow, and the free money machine has attracted people who like free money

article-image

With tBTC under the hood, Acre abstracts bridging and converts non-BTC rewards to bitcoin

article-image

Accountable is also eyeing mid-November for mainnet launch

article-image

“Adjusted for size, I think it may be the most successful ETP launch of all time,” Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says