x402 + Chainlink: Enabling AI Agents to Trigger Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) Workflows
November 4, 2025
TL;DR Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) workflows now support x402 payments as its first AI payments partner. This enables humans and agents to access onchain automation via programmable payments.
Released on mainnet this week at SmartCon, the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) is an orchestration layer that enables developers to build and monetize onchain and offchain workflows powered by Chainlink’s battle-tested infrastructure.
x402 is the first AI payments partner for CRE, making it possible for agents to autonomously pay for CRE workflows.
Aakar Shroff, VP of Product at Chainlink Labs, said, “I'm very excited to see x402 become the first AI payment partner for the Chainlink Runtime Environment. This will not only enable AI agents to directly trigger CRE workflows, but also have the AI agents pay the workflow creators for the value they are providing.”
Erik Reppel, coauthor of the x402 whitepaper and Head of Eng at CDP, adds, “Seeing industry leaders like Chainlink team up with x402 reinforces what we’ve long believed: onchain payments will power the future of AI. We’re excited to see what developers build with CRE and x402, creating new seamless, secure ways to transact onchain.”
What this unlocks
By integrating x402 support forChainlink’s off-chain verification and execution API developers and AI agents can now:
Enable programmatic payouts from proprietary data: Chainlink ensures authenticity of data, and x402 orchestrates the payments between agents and the data provider. Example: An insurer covering farmers against drought uses CRE to confirm rainfall data, and uses x402 to trigger the CRE workflow to distribute payouts. All with no claim filing required.
Publish reusable CRE workflows: Developers can publish workflows that anyone, including agents, can pay to use. Example: A brand's community management agent asks its community for new logo ideas. The agent chooses from publicly-available CRE workflows and uses x402 to pay for the best CRE workflow to verify submissions onchain.
Why this matters
This is one of the first fully on-chain, native protocol stacks enabling agentic workflows, where AI agents can:
Discover CRE workflows to execute their tasks
Verify data and results with Chainlink
Pay for the services provided by CRE workflows autonomously using x402
Complete real-world outcomes on-chain
It marks a shift from manual transactions to economically expressive AI, capable of participating directly in the crypto economy.
Next Steps
Learn more about the work Coinbase Developer Platform is leading with x402 here.
