Proposal: Using the 402x protocol to ensure the future of the Tailwind project

[Reblixt]

Context
I am an outsider who wants to see tailwind survive long-term. I’ve been thinking about sustainable monetization models that align with how AI agents are currently being built, and I wanted to share a potential solution.

The Solution: HTTP 402 & 402x
There is an HTTP status code 402 Payment Required that was reserved in the 90s but never standardized. Last year, Coinbase released an open-source protocol called 402x to solve this. It creates a standard way for a machine to pay for an endpoint via the blockchain (using USD/EUR-pegged stablecoins).

How it would work for Tailwind

• An AI agent (via tools like Cursor or Zed) requests documentation or data from Tailwind.
• Tailwind returns a 402 Payment Required code + a payment request.
• The client pays the request and immediately receives the data.

This enables per-request access without subscriptions, kyc or banking integrations.

The Implementation Challenge & Opportunity
The hurdle is usually: Who provides the wallet?

While the agentic IDEs (Cursor, Zed, etc.) could integrate wallets themselves, I believe the Inference Providers (like OpenRouter) are actually in the best position to solve this client-side issue.

Since providers like OpenRouter are already deducting credits for AI usage, they could act as the payment intermediary:

• The AI calls Tailwind via OpenRouter.
• OpenRouter receives the 402 payment request from Tailwind.
• OpenRouter automatically pays the micro-fee using their own backend systems and deducts that cost from the user's existing OpenRouter balance.

This abstracts the complexity away from the user and the IDE, making the payment invisible.

I’d love to hear the maintainers' thoughts on this. Is supporting a standard like 402x something the project would consider?