The internet world is welcoming a heavyweight new player. On September 25, US network infrastructure giant Cloudflare announced it will launch a USD stablecoin called NET Dollar (ticker taken from its NYSE stock symbol NET), aiming to lay the payment foundation for the future agentic web.

As a global leader in CDN, cybersecurity, and DNS services, Cloudflare is almost ubiquitous: from web acceleration to security protection, from authentication to combating cyber attacks, it has become a fundamental pillar of the modern internet. Now, the company is setting its sights on the financial sector, attempting to power the AI-driven internet economy with a stablecoin.

Cloudflare pointed out that AI has already changed the relationship between humans and the web. In the past, humans dominated interactions; in the future, more tasks will be handled automatically by AI agents—booking flights, purchasing daily necessities, scheduling work, etc. To support this model, the financial system must be upgraded simultaneously, requiring a currency that is instant, global, secure, and programmable. NET Dollar is born for this purpose.

This stablecoin has five core characteristics: First, it is agent-commerce oriented, enabling automatic transactions without human intervention. Second, it offers real-time settlement, supporting high-frequency automated payments. Third, it is programmable, allowing rules and processes to be directly embedded into payments. Fourth, it has global interoperability, enabling frictionless circulation across networks. Fifth, it is 1:1 USD-backed, ensuring stability and transparency.

In terms of application scenarios, NET Dollar can not only make cross-border payments instant and trustworthy but also allow personal agents to perform automated consumption, such as snatching up flight tickets or goods; corporate agents can also make automatic payments upon delivery confirmation. More importantly, it opens up new business models for the internet: creators can be rewarded for original content, developers can easily monetize APIs, and AI companies can fairly compensate ecosystem contributors.

Cloudflare co-founder and CEO Matthew Prince said, "The internet's business model is about to shift from advertising and bank transfers to a new landscape driven by micropayments and usage fees. NET Dollar will help us modernize financial channels, enabling fund flows to operate at internet speed and promoting a more open and valuable web ecosystem."

With Cloudflare also planning to support agent payment protocols and open standards, NET Dollar may become a key payment cornerstone in the AI internet era.