Friends always ask me, which project is the leader in the x402 track? It's really a headache of a question, so let me share my thoughts👇👇👇 If we consider the last wave of AI Agent hype based on the beginning of GOAT, then $PING should be the leader, as it ignited a hot narrative track; however, if we look at the practical > MEME attribute positioning of AI Agents, then it should be the later emerging $PAYAI. But I think there are still several variables before a true "leader" emerges: 1) We just experienced a brutal black swan event, and during the market liquidity drought, there hasn't been a "collective" fund that can truly support a new king to rise; 2) The current Crypto consensus is fragmented, including the consensus that altcoins are worthless, the consensus of money flowing from the crypto circle to the US stock market, and the technical narrative being overshadowed by the MEME consensus. Everyone has their own agenda and is fighting their own battles, unwilling to help others. A "leader" born in such an environment is at best a lame duck, far from a unified super consensus across the network; 3) A large number of x402 projects are still in a silent build phase, and I've recently observed over a dozen. This is actually a good thing because the memory of a single developer buying some stars on GitHub to issue tokens is really bleak. Let's give these teams that have real substance but need time to refine their products a little time. Those purely opportunistic "appetizers" are not appealing to anyone; the main course is still being simmered by the devs; 4) The x402 track needs some time for educational costs. Currently, observing the overall public opinion situation, most people’s understanding of x402 is still not systematic. There hasn't been a leading figure in x402 like Vitalik from the layer2 era or Tom Lee from the DAT track. The devs of the x402 protocol and ERC8004 are still too engineering-focused. The entire track lacks standards, direction, and goals; everyone is half-understanding and shouting. The excitement is quite extraordinary, but that's about it; 5) The "orthodoxy" advantage of the Base ecosystem hasn't been fully realized. They hold native USDC + EIP-3009 + Google resources, but they still can't deliver a knockout punch. They need to give @jessepollak and their team a bit more time. It's understandable that x402 became popular too suddenly, disrupting many project teams' plans. But fortunately, x402 is open enough, and who takes the lead is still undecided. Building up energy, when a product explosively launches, it could ignite the whole scene; 6) What about the CEX camp that controls massive liquidity and users? I have indeed seen OKX steadily injecting product strength into the x402 track, and bybit is also eager to try. As for Bn, they are probably still cleaning up the mess left by the MEME Rush. However, what the market needs now is the determination of CEX to go all in. Perhaps we need to wait a bit longer? That's all. Instead of getting tangled up in who the leader is, it's better to focus on who is truly building.