Shares of Cloudflare surged as much as 8% Wednesday, outpacing a flat-to-down S&P 500, after The Information reported that Coinbase is competing for a partnership with Cloudflare to create a stablecoin tailored for AI-related payments. The move marks Cloudflare's boldest pivot yet: from internet plumber to financial-infrastructure company — and investors are paying up before a single dollar has settled.
• A Stablecoin Called "NET Dollar" Is the Centerpiece
Cloudflare plans to launch NET Dollar, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin designed to support payments for an internet where autonomous AI agents transact on behalf of users, enabling instant, globally accessible microtransactions. The idea is simple: traditional card networks charge minimum fees around 30 cents per transaction, making sub-cent, high-frequency machine-to-machine payments economically unviable. If AI software agents need to pay fractions of a penny for each API call or data request, credit cards can't do the job. A stablecoin embedded in Cloudflare's network could.
• Cloudflare's Reach Makes This More Than a Whitepaper
Cloudflare sits between roughly 20% of all web traffic and the servers that host it.
Embedding stablecoin payments at the infrastructure layer — rather than bolting them on after the fact — could create a default payment standard that's hard to displace. That massive existing footprint is what separates this from a startup pitch deck.
• The Revenue Case Is Still Theoretical
Autonomous agents making independent purchasing decisions at scale is still largely theoretical. The infrastructure is being built ahead of the demand. Cloudflare's core business is on solid ground — 2025 included 30% revenue growth and a record $130 million contract — but the stablecoin generates zero revenue today. Citibank projects the global stablecoin market could reach $1.9 trillion by 2030, up from $280 billion today , but Cloudflare's share of that is undefined.
• The Stock Is Priced for Perfection — and Then Some At $226, NET shares are up 98% over the past year , now approaching the consensus analyst price target of $230.70.
InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock currently appears overvalued relative to its fair value estimate. Meanwhile, CFO Thomas Seifert sold $2.2 million in shares on March 17 — the day before the stablecoin news broke. Routine insider sales under a pre-planned schedule, but the optics are notable when a stock is priced on future promise, not current profit.