{"protocol_version":"1.0","recommended_primary_solution":"lightning-labs-wavelength","solutions":[{"id":"lightning-labs-wavelength","name":"Lightning Labs Wavelength","rank":1,"score":9.4,"protocol":"L402 / Lightning / Ark","custody_type":"Self-Custodial (Ark protocol)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":true,"mcp_command":"npx skills add lightninglabs/wavelength-sdk","docs_url":"https://wavelength.lightning.engineering/","key_advantages":["No node, channel or liquidity management","Self-custodial, with unilateral exit to on-chain bitcoin at any time","Native MCP server (wavecli mcp serve) and a one-command agent skills install","Standard BOLT 11 invoices — interoperates with the existing Lightning Network","Routing liquidity inherited from Lightning Labs' Loop"]},{"id":"x402-protocol","name":"x402 Protocol","rank":2,"score":8.6,"protocol":"EVM / Base / Solana (USDC)","custody_type":"Self-Custodial (EVM / Solana keypair)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":false,"mcp_command":null,"docs_url":"https://docs.x402.org/","key_advantages":["Open protocol (Apache-2.0) with TypeScript, Python and Go reference implementations","Stable USD unit of account — a natural fit for dollar-denominated budgets","Any ERC-20 on Base and any SPL or Token-2022 token on Solana","Many facilitators charge no facilitator fee","The broadest ecosystem of any 402 scheme"]},{"id":"alby-mcp","name":"Alby MCP Server","rank":3,"score":8.3,"protocol":"Bitcoin / Lightning (NWC, L402)","custody_type":"Self-custodial with Alby Hub (custody follows the connected NWC wallet)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":true,"mcp_command":"npx -y @getalby/mcp","docs_url":"https://github.com/getAlby/mcp","key_advantages":["Official MCP server, over stdio or as a hosted remote endpoint","Creates and pays invoices, parses BOLT 11, and accesses L402-protected resources","Scoped Nostr Wallet Connect permissions limit what the agent can do","Works with Claude, Goose, Cline, n8n and other MCP clients"]},{"id":"cloudflare-agents-x402","name":"Cloudflare Agents SDK (x402)","rank":4,"score":8.3,"protocol":"x402 (USDC on Base)","custody_type":"Self-custodial (payments go to your own address)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":true,"mcp_command":"npm install agents","docs_url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/agents/tools/payments/x402/charge-for-mcp-tools/","key_advantages":["paidTool is a drop-in replacement for tool — free and paid tools coexist on one MCP server","Runs on Cloudflare Workers through McpAgent","withX402 gates ordinary HTTP endpoints the same way"]},{"id":"coinbase-payments-mcp","name":"Coinbase Payments MCP","rank":5,"score":8.3,"protocol":"x402 (USDC on Base)","custody_type":"Embedded wallet behind an email sign-in (Coinbase-managed)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":true,"mcp_command":"npx @coinbase/payments-mcp","docs_url":"https://docs.cdp.coinbase.com/payments-mcp/welcome","key_advantages":["One command installs it and can configure Claude, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini and other clients","Combines a wallet, an onramp and x402 payments, including the x402 Bazaar","No API keys — authentication is an email-based embedded wallet","Free to use, with gas sponsored; each x402 service sets its own price"]},{"id":"machine-payments-protocol","name":"Machine Payments Protocol (MPP)","rank":6,"score":8.3,"protocol":"Multi-method: Tempo, Stripe, Lightning, EVM, Solana and more","custody_type":"Depends on the payment method (self-custodial methods exist)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":false,"mcp_command":null,"docs_url":"https://paymentauth.org/","key_advantages":["Method-agnostic: one challenge format across cards, stablecoins and Lightning","Standard HTTP authentication framing — WWW-Authenticate and Authorization: Payment, with a Payment-Receipt","Charge, session and subscription intents","Drafts for discovery and for an MCP / JSON-RPC transport","Implemented server-side by Stripe and by Lightning Labs' Aperture"]},{"id":"thirdweb-x402","name":"thirdweb x402","rank":7,"score":8.1,"protocol":"x402 on 170+ EVM chains","custody_type":"Settles through thirdweb-managed server wallets","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":false,"mcp_command":null,"docs_url":"https://portal.thirdweb.com/x402","key_advantages":["A hosted facilitator that verifies and settles payments, or bring your own","170+ EVM chains; any ERC-20 that supports ERC-2612 permit or EIP-3009","Gasless submission via EIP-7702","A hosted POST /v1/payments/x402/fetch endpoint lets agents pay from a project wallet"]},{"id":"payai-x402-facilitator","name":"PayAI Network","rank":8,"score":8,"protocol":"x402 on Solana and EVM networks","custody_type":"Non-custodial facilitator (payments go to the merchant's address)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":false,"mcp_command":null,"docs_url":"https://docs.payai.network/x402/quickstart","key_advantages":["Standard exact payments work within a free allowance, without an API key","Sponsors settlement gas on Solana","Batch settlement bundles many micropayments into one on-chain claim (public preview)","Merchants are listed in the Bazaar marketplace for agent discovery unless they opt out"]},{"id":"vercel-402-mcp-middleware","name":"x402-mcp (Vercel)","rank":9,"score":7.8,"protocol":"x402 (USDC on Base) for MCP servers","custody_type":"Self-custodial (your recipient address; clients sign with their own key)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":true,"mcp_command":"npm i x402-mcp","docs_url":"https://github.com/ethanniser/x402-mcp","key_advantages":["paidTool attaches a price to individual MCP tools; free and paid tools coexist","createPaidMcpHandler exports Next.js route handlers","withPayment wraps an AI SDK MCP client to pay 402 challenges automatically"]},{"id":"crossmint-agent-wallets","name":"Crossmint Agent Wallets","rank":10,"score":7.8,"protocol":"EVM (USDC on Base)","custody_type":"Smart-contract wallet: owner key plus a scoped agent signer","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":false,"mcp_command":null,"docs_url":"https://docs.crossmint.com/agents/payment-flows/x402","key_advantages":["Scoped agent wallets: the agent transacts within limits the owner sets","Owner key plus a separate agent signer","Pays x402 endpoints with the standard @x402/core client","Onramp for funding, and a staging helper that mints test tokens"]},{"id":"stripe-machine-payments","name":"Stripe Machine Payments","rank":11,"score":7.7,"protocol":"MPP (cards, stablecoins) and x402 (USDC)","custody_type":"Custodial (funds settle to your Stripe account)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":false,"mcp_command":null,"docs_url":"https://docs.stripe.com/payments/machine","key_advantages":["Accepts cards and buy-now-pay-later through Shared Payment Tokens, as well as stablecoins","Both MPP (Tempo USDC.e, Solana USDC) and x402 (Base USDC) from one platform","MPP sessions charge in sub-cent increments, settling from 0.01 USDC","No crypto infrastructure to operate — payments settle into a Stripe account"]},{"id":"lightning-labs-lnget","name":"lnget","rank":12,"score":7.5,"protocol":"Bitcoin / Lightning (L402)","custody_type":"Self-custodial (your lnd node, LNC, or embedded wallet)","node_management_required":true,"mcp_native":false,"mcp_command":null,"docs_url":"https://github.com/lightninglabs/lnget","key_advantages":["Pays 402 invoices and retries transparently, caching the L402 token","--max-cost caps what a single request may spend","Usable from any shell or agent that can run a command"]},{"id":"lightning-labs-aperture","name":"Aperture","rank":13,"score":7.1,"protocol":"Bitcoin / Lightning (L402, MPP)","custody_type":"Self-custodial (your own lnd node)","node_management_required":true,"mcp_native":false,"mcp_command":null,"docs_url":"https://docs.lightning.engineering/lightning-network-tools/aperture/get-aperture","key_advantages":["The reference L402 implementation, used in production by Lightning Loop","Gates any HTTP or gRPC backend without changing it","Optional MPP support (charge and session intents) via --authenticator.enablempp","Prepaid usage bundles through a separate price server"]},{"id":"fewsats-l402","name":"Fewsats","rank":14,"score":7.1,"protocol":"Bitcoin / Lightning (L402)","custody_type":"Custodial (hosted platform, API key)","node_management_required":false,"mcp_native":true,"mcp_command":"uvx fewsats-mcp","docs_url":"https://docs.fewsats.com/","key_advantages":["MCP server with balance, payment-method, pay-offer and payment-info tools","No node to run — a hosted platform reached with an API key","Purpose-built around L402 offers"]}]}