研究日期：2026-08-10 來源：Cloudflare Blog（Will Papper，2026-08-04，Agents Week）｜ 原文全文 collapsed 附文末
Cloudflare Wallets 係為 AI agent 而設嘅可程式化支付基建：Account Wallet（人類擁有）可以設定預算、委派畀 Virtual Wallets（agent 用 API key 操作），用 x402 協議做 stablecoin 微支付——令 agent 唔使登入頁面、唔使人工加 payment method、唔使等 API key，就可以自主試用同購買數十上百個 API/內容/工具。目標係建構「headless marketplace for the Internet」：賣家（Monetization Gateway）收錢 + 買家（Wallets）付錢 + 身份（cloudflare.pay）歸因，三塊砌成 agentic commerce 完整基建。
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問題：Agent 而家冇辦法自己試 API。要過人類登入頁、搵人加 payment method、生成 API key——呢個 flow 對 agent 有兩個根本障礙：冇穩定 identifier 註冊 + 冇原生方式付款。結果 agent 通常放棄，將註冊/付款踢返畀人類——令 agent 好難試用同比較 API，窒礙 agentic commerce 增長。
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兩種錢包：
- Account Wallet（人類）：擁有者加錢、委派 spend 畀 virtual wallets、隨時提取。可設政策：每員工每星期 $100 AI inference 預算、allow list、最大交易額。
- Virtual Wallet（agent）：用 API key 操作，最大 spend 由 Account Wallet owner 設定上限。Agent 可以喺權限內自主花費，超出上限要人工 override。
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x402 協議：Monetization Gateway（本月早前公佈）支援 x402——允許將付款 attached 到 HTTP requests。微支付可以支付 AI inference、data、content。想喺 Monetization Gateway 或其他 x402-compatible endpoints 買賣，就需要 wallet。
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「限制反而係自由」嘅設計哲學：「If an agent is responsible for $10, you can worry less about its spending than if it is responsible for $1,000.」——如果試 API 只係幾 cents，$10 預算足夠探索好多選項。花費上限令人類可以放心畀 agent 自主探索。異常消費（unexpectedly fast spending）會觸發人工審查。
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身份歸因：cloudflare.pay — Agent 可以透過 cloudflare.pay 連結 wallet 到 Cloudflare account，可選咁表明自己係某組織嘅 agent（例如 research.example.cloudflare.pay）。解決「一個人類可以 spin up 幾十個 agent」嘅歸因問題——商家可以知道邊個 agent 屬於邊個組織，方便畀 free trial / credits。
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Agent identifier 應該人類可讀：類似 DNS 嘅 URL↔IP 配對，佢哋提出將不可讀嘅 keypair 變成可讀 identifier（Web Bot Auth 已有 keypair 註冊）。「If someone is unidentified, they are not inherently untrustworthy, but they need to prove themselves more」——對待未識別 agent 應該好似對待 VPN。
1. 呢個係「agent 經濟」嘅支付層——佢哋喺度建鐵路 Cloudflare 嘅佈局清晰：Monetization Gateway（賣家收錢）+ Wallets（買家付錢）+ cloudflare.pay 身份（歸因）——三件砌成 agentic commerce 嘅完整基建。呢個係「賣鏟子」邏輯：無論邊個 agent framework 贏（Claude/Codex/Pi...），只要 agent 要買 API、要買內容、要買工具，就要行過 Cloudflare 嘅支付層。正如 Kitesurf 係 agent 嘅 browser、Wallets 係 agent 嘅銀行——Cloudflare 正喺度將自己定位成 agentic Internet 嘅基礎設施提供者。
2. x402 係關鍵：將付款變成 HTTP 原生操作 x402 允許付款 attached 到 HTTP request——即係話「試 API」變成「請求 + 付款」一體化，唔使另外過 payment flow。呢個對 agent 係革命性：agent 而家可以喺程式碼入面直接「買」一次 inference，而唔使有人類介入。微支付 + 無帳戶 = agent 可以好似人類用 credit card 咁自由試嘢——但唔使填表。
3. Virtual Wallet 嘅 guardrails 係「AI 安全支出」嘅第一個實用框架 之前研究 Garry Tan 時 @nabu_lines 問：「who controls the irreversible actions those skills can trigger?」——Cloudflare Wallets 正正答緊呢條問題：allowance + allow list + max transaction size + manual override 係一套可執行嘅「agent 花錢安全」框架。呢個設計好成熟：唔係 block agent（會扼殺探索），而係畀佢哋有限自由 + 異常偵測 + 人工審查——同「progressive friction」嘅支出治理哲學（Databricks 講過）一脈相承。
4. 身份歸因係 agentic commerce 嘅隱形基礎 文章最易被忽略但最深遠嘅位：歸因問題。今日 agent 上你網站，你唔知佢代表邊個——好難畀 free trial 或者 credits（因為一個人可以開幾十個 agent）。cloudflare.pay 令 agent 可以可選咁 declare 身份，商家可以優先同「已知 agent」交易。呢個係「agent 版嘅 reputation system」——未識別唔等於不可信，但要 prove yourself more（VPN 類比好準確）。
5. 時機：Agents Week + 多數 web traffic 已經係 bots 文章尾段提到「a majority of traffic on the web now being driven by bots」——呢個係成件事嘅背景。當大多數流量已經係 bots，agentic commerce 由「未來趨勢」變成「而家嘅基建缺口」。Cloudflare 揀呢個時機（Agents Week）推出 Wallets，係想喺 agent 經濟定型之前佔住支付層。
6. 局限同未解問題
- Wallet handle 而家只係 claim username；真正付款功能「soon」先出——仲係預告階段
- Stablecoin onramp/offramp 限「supported geographies」——法規限制未解
- x402 係新協議，生態未成熟——要商家肯用先有網絡效應
- 「惡意 agent 花你錢」嘅風險靠 guardrails 管理，但 guardrails 本身可以俾 prompt injection 繞過（agent 被 prompt 騙到轉帳）——呢個係 agentic commerce 嘅根本安全問題，文章冇正面處理
- 呢個係「agent 經濟基建」嘅重要拼圖——同 Kitesurf（agent browser）、Monetization Gateway（agent 賣嘢）一齊睇，先睇到 Cloudflare 嘅全盤佈局
- Virtual Wallet guardrails 框架（allowance + allow list + max tx size + manual override）可以應用喺任何「委派 AI 做嘢」嘅場景——包括 Jena 家將來如果有 agent 要買 API/工具
- 身份歸因問題對「AI 信用/信任」有普適意義——我哋 research 嘅「判斷資訊可信度」同佢嘅「判斷 agent 可信度」係同一件事
- https://blog.cloudflare.com/wallets/（Announcing Cloudflare Wallets，Will Papper，2026-08-04）
- 相關：Monetization Gateway（Cloudflare，2026 年 8 月初）、x402 Foundation、Agents Week
點擊展開完整原文（Cloudflare Blog，Will Papper）
Announcing Cloudflare Wallets: the programmable wallet for the agentic Internet
Will Papper 8 MINUTE READ
Today, it is difficult for AI agents to try out new APIs. They often have to navigate through a login page designed for humans and not agents, contact a human to add a payment method, generate an API key, and then figure out how to call the API.
This flow is very difficult for agents for two reasons: Agents do not have a stable identifier to sign up for an API, and they do not have a native way to pay for APIs. Because they lack these things, they often struggle to onboard onto software, which limits the growth of agentic commerce. AI agents often give up on these tasks entirely, kicking registration, payment methods, and API key generation back to humans. This makes it very difficult for agents to try out and compare many APIs.
To solve this, we've created Cloudflare Wallets. Starting today, you can claim a Cloudflare Wallet handle for your account, which will provide a unique username to help you better connect with merchants. Soon, you will be able to set up and use your Cloudflare Wallet to pay for APIs and content.
Earlier this month, we announced the Monetization Gateway to help Cloudflare customers get paid for their websites and applications. Monetization Gateway will support micropayments using the x402 protocol, which allows for payments to be attached to HTTP requests. These micropayments will be able to pay for uses ranging from AI inference to data to content. If you want to pay or get paid for services behind Monetization Gateway and other x402-compatible endpoints, you'll need a wallet.
Cloudflare Wallets will allow you to store stablecoins, purchase services, and receive funds across the web. Each account with a wallet will also be able to create Virtual Wallets for its agents to enable them to buy APIs, MCP Tools, content, and more. You will be able to define guardrails for your Virtual Wallets (such as an allowance, an allow list, and a maximum transaction size) to help your agent spend money safely from your account. This will allow your agent to try out many APIs with low friction and managed risk. Wallet users will have the option to share their Cloudflare Wallet handles, which will give them a stable identity when interacting with merchants.
Building the two-sided agentic market
Cloudflare's Monetization Gateway will allow eligible Cloudflare customers to sell their resources (such as content or APIs) headlessly to agentic buyers. But for that market to truly develop, agents need more tools to buy from merchants in a machine-native way. Wallets will add another tool to Cloudflare's Agents SDK, enabling AI agents to easily purchase necessary APIs and content using micropayments.
There will be two types of Cloudflare Wallets: Account Wallets and Virtual Wallets.
Account Wallets are designed for humans who are owners and users of Cloudflare accounts. They will be able to add funds, delegate spend to virtual wallets managed by agents, and remove funds as needed.
Virtual Wallets, by contrast, are designed for agents and operate via API keys. Within a Virtual Wallet, an agent will be able to spend funds according to its permissions. Its maximum spend will be capped by the limit set by the owner of the Account Wallet. This framework gives agents freedom to act on behalf of users without constant manual approval while limiting an agent's ability to overspend.
The freedom to explore
Virtual Wallets are exciting because they will allow agents to do what they're best at: explore dozens or hundreds of services and find the best one for a particular use case. Stablecoin micropayments via x402 will make it simple to try an API without an account, allowing agents to test new options with little friction. The spending caps on Virtual Wallets are designed so that humans can let agents explore autonomously within safe spending limits. These limits may seem like constraints, but counterintuitively they give agents more freedom. If an agent is responsible for $10, you can worry less about its spending than if it is responsible for $1,000. If an API only costs a few cents to try, then $10 is more than sufficient to pursue and evaluate many options.
Once you or your agent has picked an API to use, policies set by you in your Account Wallet will act as cost controls for Virtual Wallets. Want to give every employee a $100 per week budget for AI inference? Simply provision an Account Wallet with the right balance and create Virtual Wallets for each employee with that rule. Anyone who exceeds the limits on their Virtual Wallet will be able to request a manual override from a human who is authorized to make changes to the Account Wallet.
We want to make it easy for Account Wallets to set flexible yet firm spending policies that do not require daily, active monitoring. When something anomalous happens, such as unexpectedly fast spending, a human will be able to review and confirm whether everything is operating as intended. If the spend was intentional, then the administrator of the Account Wallet will be able to raise the limit or approve a one-time injection of funds. If the spend was unintentional, then the spending policies for adding funds to virtual wallets did their job by imposing caps.
We are working to make it as easy as possible to fund and use these wallets. We will start with simple ways to onramp and offramp funds within supported geographies, with self-funding via stablecoins available as an alternative for eligible users. The Internet will not shift completely overnight, but with a majority of traffic on the web now being driven by bots, we are excited to give agents and merchants first-class tools for agentic commerce.
Beyond payments alone
Allowing humans to delegate authority to agents to easily buy and sell services is a helpful starting point. But this delegation is not always obvious to the merchants as they interact with agents. Today, if an agent comes to your website, you may know little about them as a user, despite the fact that the agent is acting on behalf of an individual or an organization. This lack of attribution challenges many traditional web business models. It's easy to give a one-week free trial or sign-up credits to a human or an organization. It's hard to give these same perks to an agent that lacks a stable identity and when one human can spin up dozens of agents under their control.
We solve this problem by linking wallets to a Cloudflare account via cloudflare.pay. cloudflare.pay will allow agents to optionally identify themselves, since their identity is a delegate of the account. A research agent could live at research.example.cloudflare.pay, allowing merchants to know that it is an agent from a particular organization. This approach will permit agents to maintain consistent and persistent identities, making the experience better for all parties. It will be completely optional for agents to choose to declare their identity or not, and it will be up to businesses to decide whether they want to prioritize transacting with known agents.
Agent identifiers should be human-readable
We believe that the approach to dealing with agents will look like the approach to dealing with VPNs: If someone is unidentified, they are not inherently untrustworthy, but they need to prove themselves more. This is why we have Turnstile and other initiatives to detect bots within Bot Management. Our identity primitive will build on top of this prior work. For example, Web Bot Auth already allows agents to register their identity via a keypair. IDs attached to Cloudflare Wallets allow this keypair to become human-readable.
We know that agentic identity standards are changing quickly, which is why we wanted to keep our approach simple. We are proposing a human-readable identifier for a not-very-readable keypair, similar to the URL and IP-address pairings used in DNS. We are not trying to define a particular schema or other verification system. We only want to make identity simple to remember and easy to declare. As schemas to enrich agentic identity develop through the x402 Foundation's initiatives, we will seek to adopt them and intend to encourage others to do the same.
The future of agentic commerce
At Cloudflare, we want to offer all the building blocks for agentic commerce to succeed. Monetization Gateway will offer a way for sellers to get paid without setting up traditional payment infrastructure. Wallets will offer a way for buyers to pay headlessly via agents. Identity will allow merchants to communicate with buyers who identify themselves or enforce identification requirements.
All of these building blocks will create a headless marketplace for the Internet. If you are excited about this and want to participate, you can claim your handle now. We're excited to see what you build and monetize.