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Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

blog.cloudflare.com

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Re: Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

#171

Post by hightrix »

incompatible wrote: post #161
arjie wrote: post #121

This is the dream of microtransactions and agents-paying-for-access that so many people have always wanted. It was never going to be implemented on existing payment rails so it would have to be something like this. I can't wait to see it in play somewhere because I am increasingly annoyed that I have to own API keys on various platforms etc. etc. I just want my agent to make decisions and spend a limited amount of mo…

A dream for some, a nightmare for others. People locked out from much of the Internet because they don't have enough money. Of course, the prices would usually be set at whatever maximises revenue, just check out scientific journal publishing.

I would argue a nightmare for most.

Turning everything into a microtransaction / subscription is destroying what was good about the internet.

Re: Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

#172

Post by gpm »

incompatible wrote: post #169
mxuribe wrote: post #114

So, the snake oil salesman in me immediately wonders if this will become the new landscape for spam....It might go something like the following... 1. Establish domain names and relevant cloudflare account including the monetization gateway (associated rules, etc.). 2. Then host a ton of crap content across a wide swath of topics...not even decent quality...merely a step above old school style SEO keywords...just enou…

"host a ton of crap content across a wide swath of topics.." But how will anybody know it's there?

Host two crap tons of content across a wide swath of topics... one which points to the other?

I'm basically of the impression that this is already happening based on all the LLM generated slop search results I get - presumably for ad revenue (or in the case of Musk to push political views).

Re: Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

#174

Post by incompatible »

gpm wrote: post #172
incompatible wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"host a ton of crap content across a wide swath of topics.." But how will anybody know it's there?

Host two crap tons of content across a wide swath of topics... one which points to the other? I'm basically of the impression that this is already happening based on all the LLM generated slop search results I get - presumably for ad revenue (or in the case of Musk to push political views).

Yeah, that could work.

Re: Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

#175

Post by skybrian »

hightrix wrote: post #171
incompatible wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A dream for some, a nightmare for others. People locked out from much of the Internet because they don't have enough money. Of course, the prices would usually be set at whatever maximises revenue, just check out scientific journal publishing.

I would argue a nightmare for most. Turning everything into a microtransaction / subscription is destroying what was good about the internet.

Depends what you compare it to. If the alternative is buying a subscription to get past a paywall, it might be better?

Re: Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

#176

Post by skybrian »

incompatible wrote: post #166
cedws wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Conversely this has the potential to unlock the internet. How often have you clicked a paywalled link on HN and moved on because you don't want to go through the hassle and pay $20 to read an article? If you could be frictionlessly billed 10c to read the article instead, wouldn't you be more willing? I'm actually OK with paying a fair price for the content I consume, I just don't want to be paying hundreds of subscri…

Presumably, nobody would offer the 10c per page unless they were making more than the $20 / month or whatever previously. So people will be paying more. Then add all the sites that currently just get what they can with advertising, and now they can become pay-per-view.

They weren't getting the $20 / month from users who bounce off.

Seems more likely that subscriptions, advertising, and microtransactions will coexist.

Re: Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

#177

Post by jeremyjh »

hightrix wrote: post #171
incompatible wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A dream for some, a nightmare for others. People locked out from much of the Internet because they don't have enough money. Of course, the prices would usually be set at whatever maximises revenue, just check out scientific journal publishing.

I would argue a nightmare for most. Turning everything into a microtransaction / subscription is destroying what was good about the internet.

Advertising and all the anti-patterns it incentivizes are worse.If the payments are very low and frictionless this could be very good for the internet - as long as Cloudflare is only the first and not the only.

Re: Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

#178

Post by [deleted] »

sofixa wrote: post #90
BadBadJellyBean wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Airports could potentially be such a place but I admit that this is a bit contrived.

Not really because the transaction occurs in a specific place with specific tax rules, regardless of where the purchaser is from.

[deleted]

Re: Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

#179

Post by sanswork »

skybrian wrote: post #176
incompatible wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably, nobody would offer the 10c per page unless they were making more than the $20 / month or whatever previously. So people will be paying more. Then add all the sites that currently just get what they can with advertising, and now they can become pay-per-view.

They weren't getting the $20 / month from users who bounce off. Seems more likely that subscriptions, advertising, and microtransactions will coexist.

They have to get almost 200 more conversions to make up for the single subscriber. Given a lot of these services offer $1 entry subscriptions and people still bounce it's unlikely you'll have a mass market excited to pay $0.10 everytime they want to read an article to make up for the person paying $20 to read a handful everyday.

Microtransactions have existed in a bunch of forms over the past 20 years and always fail to find take up because the mental load in deciding to pay or not is higher than the value receive.

Maybe ideal for agents but how many people are going to trust their agents with enough of a balance.

Re: Monetization Gateway: Charge for any resource behind Cloudflare via x402

#180

Post by dgudkov »

wmf wrote: post #165
dgudkov wrote: post #35

We need standards and protocols, not another megacorp inserting itself between people. Micropayments should be part of the HTTP protocol.

x402 is the standard.

Good point. I've found their website: https://www.x402.org/
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