L402 in 60 seconds:

Your API returns HTTP 402 (Payment Required) with a Lightning invoice in the header. Client pays. Server returns the resource.

No API keys to manage. No OAuth flows. No billing disputes. No chargebacks.

Just: request, pay, receive.

The HTTP spec reserved status code 402 "for future use" in 1999. Twenty-seven years later, Lightning makes it practical.

If you're building an MCP server or any API... this is how machines will pay you. ⚡

#L402 #Lightning #Bitcoin #MCP #BuildOnBitcoin