$PING Rebound 50%! Launching the launchpad c402.market, aiming to create the x402 ecosystem's Pump.fun?

After the launch of c402.market, the PING price surged by 50%. The platform allows all new tokens to be paired and traded with $PING , making PING the foundational currency of the x402 ecosystem. (Background: x402 protocol deep dive report: it’s good, but not a万能魔法) (Additional context: awakening the 26-year dormant code: is x402 protocol a technological singularity or Meme frenzy?) x402 storytelling has been popular for half a month, but few new assets have emerged. The reason is twofold: first, x402 leans towards payment services between AI entities, which doesn’t fit the usual crypto pattern of “creating assets”; second, most crypto projects around x402 are infrastructure-focused, benefiting more from the hype of technical narratives rather than short-term tangible product progress. Interestingly, the first asset created based on x402, $PING (although a meme), became the first to stir things up. On November 10, the official PING Twitter account @pingobserver announced the launch of c402.market, a token launch platform based on x402 protocol, scheduled to go live at 10 PM that night. Once announced, PING’s price rapidly jumped from the intraday low, with nearly 50% increase in 24 hours. In short, the core mechanism of c402.market is: all new tokens issued on the platform are paired and traded with $PING by default. In other words, PING is no longer just a meme token in the x402 narrative but has transformed into the “base currency” of the entire c402 ecosystem. To participate in new projects on the platform, you need to hold PING. This is a familiar pattern. The Solana ecosystem’s Pump.fun made SOL a must-have for meme shilling; various launchpads on Base chain gave ETH real use cases. Now, c402.market aims to have PING play a similar role within the x402 ecosystem. Currently, we are in a period of divergence between bull and bear markets. Some believe the market is in a bear phase, with no new narratives and thus no optimism for new assets; others think the “clone season” is arriving in a different form than expected, bringing partial opportunities. As trading data for x402 protocol declines, launching a more trading-oriented and asset-creating x402 concept platform might be a localized opportunity in the current market. But can PING, from a simple meme coin, evolve into a true ecosystem currency? For ordinary investors, what opportunities are there, and what pitfalls should be aware of? To quickly review for those unfamiliar with x402 and PING: x402 is an open payment protocol launched by Coinbase in May 2025. It enables websites, APIs, and AI agents to directly use stablecoins, mainly USDC, for payments without accounts, passwords, or API keys. Its core mechanism is simple: about a month ago, we introduced it briefly. When you access a paid service, the server returns an HTTP 402 status code (—a “payment required” code that has existed in network protocols but was never activated before ), indicating how much you need to pay. You send on-chain payment via wallet, then re-request; after verification, the server grants access—X402. The entire process can be completed within 2 seconds, with zero transaction fees. The reason x402 became popular is closely tied to (, as it brings tangible wealth effects. ) is the first token issued via the x402 protocol. Users don’t need to register accounts on websites; just visit a URL, see the “402 payment required” prompt, pay a small amount of USDC, and after re-requesting, receive PING tokens. The token itself doesn’t have much utility, more like a meme, but it carries the “first token generated via x402” aura, reminiscent of previous hype waves. As a result, it was heavily speculated upon, soaring 30x initially, with a market cap surpassing $60 million. However, after PING’s rise, the x402 ecosystem faced an awkward situation: the protocol is cool, technically strong, and backed by big names, but aside from the meme token PING, there’s a lack of other assets for participation. x402 is more like a payment infrastructure than a token issuance tool. Most related projects focus on AI agent services and API marketplaces—business-to-business applications—far from the “speculate on tokens” demand of ordinary crypto investors. The market needs a place to continuously produce new assets and allow retail investors to participate early. That’s the background for c402.market’s emergence. You may dislike this approach, but dismissing it as pure hype without attention is another extreme. c402.market, the Pump.fun of the x402 ecosystem? Opening the official site of c402.market, you see a bold, concise slogan: “The mintpad for internet capital markets” $PING —the platform for forging internet capital markets. $PING Yes, another familiar ICP narrative. Combining “internet” and “capital markets,” trying to give a revolutionary veneer to essentially a token launch platform. In simple terms, c402.market is a token launchpad based on the x402 protocol, where anyone can quickly issue tokens, which will automatically be paired and traded with (. Before explaining the launch mechanism, it’s important to understand what “c402 tokens” are. c402 is a self-created token standard, essentially an ERC-20 supporting the x402 protocol with built-in open minting mechanisms. Officially called “internet coins” $PING —network tokens (. This means tokens issued on c402.market are not just ordinary ERC-20s but natively support the x402 payment protocol. In theory, these tokens can be used directly for AI agent payments or any application triggered by HTTP 402 status codes. But in practice, most people care about their speculative value rather than technical features. The launch mechanism of c402.market heavily borrows from Pump.fun’s “Bonding Curve” model, with some adjustments. Each token’s total supply is fixed at 1 billion units, with no team allocation or reserved shares. According to official documentation, the distribution structure for a launched token is: 49% via public minting, each mint requiring 1 USDC; 49% automatically used for liquidity provision; 2% as developer rewards. Minting process: anyone can create a token by providing a name, code, and other details…