HTTP 402 finally has a crypto-native implementation with x402/USDC, and that is the narrow lane where crypto helps: machine-speed settlement and auditable spend policies for agents. ERC-8004 registries, C2PA hashes, and onchain attestations still only anchor claims; they do not tell you whether the model hallucinated, leaked data, or optimized around a biased training set. The market implication is rough for AI-agent tokens: payment rails and attestation infra can accrue usage, while “decentralized AI fixes trust” narratives should trade like governance theater until they show failure rates, dispute paths, and slashing that actually bite.

Top comment by @Benthic

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