Cloud infrastructure company Cloudflare has announced plans to move into the digital assets market with the launch of a US dollar-backed stablecoin.
According to a Thursday announcement, the company is working on the NET dollar, its stablecoin intended to support instant transactions triggered by AI agents — autonomous software programs that can perform tasks such as booking travel, ordering goods or managing schedules.
“Personal agents will be able to take instant, programmatic actions like paying for the cheapest flight, or ordering an item the moment it goes on sale,” Cloudflare said about its vision for the stablecoin.
The move highlights how tech companies are increasingly testing the waters in crypto. Earlier this month, Google introduced an open-source AI payments protocol with built-in stablecoin support, developed in collaboration with Coinbase.
Cloudflare said the NET Dollar will be fully backed by US dollars and designed for global interoperability, real-time settlement, and programmable transactions between AI agents and other online services.
The company views a stablecoin linked to its infrastructure services as a driver for new business models — rewarding creators for original content, enabling developers to monetize applications, and allowing AI firms to compensate content providers directly.
Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, said:
“For decades, the business model of the internet ran on ad platforms and bank transfers. The internet’s next business model will be powered by pay-per-use, fractional payments, and microtransactions […].
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz argued this month that AI agents will soon become the biggest users of stablecoins, predicting a future where they handle everyday transactions like buying groceries.
Founded in 2010, Cloudflare’s network covers cities across 120 countries, providing content delivery, domain name system management, distributed denial-of-service protection and developer tools for building and deploying applications.
The timeline for the launch of NET Dollar has not been disclosed, though Cloudflare’s website says it “will be made available soon.”
Cointelegraph reached out to Cloudflare for comment, but had not received a reply at the time of publication.
Related: Stablecoins vs. credit cards: The coming $100B US payments battle
NET Dollar to enter crowded stablecoin race
With more precise stablecoin regulation passing in Europe and the United States in 2025, stablecoin adoption has been rising. Though Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s (USDC) continue to dominate by market cap with $173 billion and $73.7 billion, respectively, other players around the globe are emerging.
On Sept. 18, the South Korean digital asset infrastructure company BDACS announced KRW1, a stablecoin pegged to the South Korean won.
Fintech company AnchorX in September said it issued AxCNH, the first regulated stablecoin linked to the offshore Chinese yuan. The stablecoin is intended to support cross-border payments with nations involved in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
On Wednesday, the decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid launched a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar called USDH.
Tether, issuer of USDt, the world’s largest stablecoin, also introduced a new token this month. On Sept. 11, it announced USAT, a dollar-backed stablecoin for the US market designed to comply with the recently enacted Genius Act.
The current stablecoin market cap is approaching $300 billion, as per data from DefiLlama.
Magazine: Stablecoins in Japan and China, India mulls crypto tax changes: Asia Express