That's probably their strategy of handling 402 Payment Required[1]. They want to become the platform over which auctions for AI crawlers buying rights to use content take place.
Scary if it works out their way and Cloudflare becomes an even bigger giant.
For those wondering, its a stablecoin. So you put in a dollar, you get back a dollar. This makes sense, especially for Cloudflare. It also makes a lot of sense to a degree, I don't imagine anyone trusting an AI to just hand over stablecoins for transactions.
This are zero details on how it's supposed to work, or how it avoids the problem traditional crypto. “Instant global transactions” sound good in theory, but it has never been a technological problem, purely a regulatory one. Govts. don't like this happening. They want oversight, especially for cross border transactions.
At least they could've used one of the many existing systems... Brave attention token for example is right there and there's a few other similar projects. They didn't even acknowledge alternative efforts.
ik alot of people on here hate crypto, tether has been making billions each quarter for the last few years. I dont think there's any more real thought to this, than the genius act providing a framework and cf trying to get easy money
The genius act will change how fintech and neobanks operate, so expect to see more companies offering similar services
Could someone perhaps provide a steelman argument for this? My own personal read on this is really cynical...
As per NIST's recommendations[1] it seems like a blockchain doesn't make sense for this use case.
From where I stand it seems like Cloudflare is side-stepping the scrutiny, regulations and perhaps most pertinently the cost that would govern a similar offering using traditional financial instruments.
> it seems like a blockchain doesn't make sense for this use case.
given, most traffic will likely be from ai agents, does it make more sense to try to hack agents into using credit cards, having shared social security numbers, opening bank accounts, dealing with chargebacks and slow settlement?
or
does it make sense to use technology that is
- internet native
- programmable
- near instant
- secure
- permissionless
the volatility issues are resolved through the use of stablecoins.
Good luck with the regulatory process in Europe. Cloudflare is going to have to register as a financial institution. There's no way they will be able to roll this out globally.
Look what is going on with Google and Android apps.
You let Cloudflare do things like that, and in a few years you will have to register with them using your passport to have the right to browse website. "For your safety".
Seems like i should be concerned that the company running our edge infastructure decided to expand into crypto...how is this not the signal to jump ship...
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 36.4 ms ] threadScary if it works out their way and Cloudflare becomes an even bigger giant.
[1] https://developer.mozilla.org/de/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Sta...
The genius act will change how fintech and neobanks operate, so expect to see more companies offering similar services
As per NIST's recommendations[1] it seems like a blockchain doesn't make sense for this use case.
From where I stand it seems like Cloudflare is side-stepping the scrutiny, regulations and perhaps most pertinently the cost that would govern a similar offering using traditional financial instruments.
[1] https://csrc.nist.gov/CSRC/media/Projects/enhanced-distribut...
given, most traffic will likely be from ai agents, does it make more sense to try to hack agents into using credit cards, having shared social security numbers, opening bank accounts, dealing with chargebacks and slow settlement?
or
does it make sense to use technology that is
- internet native - programmable - near instant - secure - permissionless
the volatility issues are resolved through the use of stablecoins.
You let Cloudflare do things like that, and in a few years you will have to register with them using your passport to have the right to browse website. "For your safety".