HTTP 402: the payment status code the web ignored for 33 years

The internet had a payment status code for 33 years. Nobody used it. Until now. HTTP 402 Payment Required has been in the spec since 1991. It was reserved. Servers couldn't actually charge for a request because the client half of the protocol was missing. No browser knew what to do with a 402. No client library could sign and replay. The status code sat in RFC 7231 with the word "experimental" next to it. What x402 actually does x402 is the missing client half. The protocol shipped in 2025. Here