{"report":"paid-verification-census","title":"We paid 550 x402 endpoints. Here's what came back.","published":"2026-08-25","census_window":{"first_day":"2026-08-16","last_day":"2026-08-21"},"waves":[{"wave":1,"window":"2026-08-16/2026-08-21","basis":"catalog by reputation, top first","endpoints":550,"attempts":1333,"total_usdc":5.4015,"delivered":332,"payment_required":481,"pass_rate_payment_required":0.69},{"wave":5,"window":"2026-08-26","basis":"never previously purchased, <=$0.005, cheapest first","endpoints":359,"attempts":360,"total_usdc":0.4105,"delivered":140,"paid_calls":171,"paid_then_400":99,"paid_then_400_with_declared_params":97}],"census_totals":{"attempts":1333,"endpoints":550,"total_usdc":5.4015,"records_hash_chained":1333,"records_signed":1333,"scout_wallet":"0x54E163e9B8eDDa194D83F46AdD921bfA5fc5f4E0"},"findings":{"advertised_price_never_charged":69,"paid_then_rejected_4xx":52,"paid_but_still_402":25,"endpoints_declaring_response_schema":0},"corrections":[{"date":"2026-08-27","corrects":"endpoints_declaring_response_schema","note":"The zero measured our submission-form field, not the network. Unpaid challenge census of all active listings (1,675 attempted, 1,639 collected): 64% carry extensions.bazaar in-band; the split below. 36 errors unretried; 18 endpoints rate-limited the collector, absence unproven for those.","in_band_metadata_endpoints":1077,"population":1675,"real_response_schema":227,"output_example":841,"typed_param_schema":460,"sdk_boilerplate_only":117,"wellknown_schema_hosts":36},{"date":"2026-08-27","corrects":"wave 5 paid_then_400","note":"46 of the 99 had declared the omitted required parameters in the challenge we paid against; 53 declared nothing machine-readable. The scout now refuses to pay when a challenge declares required params the call omits (declared_params_unmet).","declared_params_unread_by_us":46,"declared_nothing":53,"superseded_by":"same-day amendment (next entry)"},{"date":"2026-08-27","corrects":"both 2026-08-27 entries above (same-day amendment)","note":"The census collector truncated stored payment-required headers at 4KB; 382 of 1,395 were cut mid-challenge and classified as declaring nothing. Re-collected with the cap removed, re-derived same day; both corpora retained. These figures supersede the two entries above.","in_band_metadata_endpoints":1366,"population":1675,"real_response_schema":463,"output_example":1119,"params_any_shape":934,"params_required_marked":448,"sdk_boilerplate_only":101,"wellknown_schema_hosts":36,"wave5_declared_params":97,"wave5_declared_required":87,"wave5_declared_nothing":2},{"date":"2026-08-27","corrects":"paid_but_status_4xx verdicts (both waves): 'settled payment' was unproven","note":"The scout's non-200 path recorded an attached payment authorization without consulting the chain. Retroactive audit against Base, positive-controlled both directions. Unknowns are stated, not folded. Ceiling absorbs settlements from delivered calls whose proof was missing at attempt time.","wave5_not_settled":96,"wave5_settled_chain_confirmed":3,"wave5_settled_usd":0.0045,"census_4xx_rows":405,"census_4xx_listings":164,"census_rows_proven_unsettled":241,"census_rows_unknown":124,"census_settled_ceiling_rows":34,"census_settled_ceiling_usd_upper_bound":0.452,"census_chain_confirmed":2}],"live":{"attempted":1301,"delivered":676,"payment_required":1233,"pass_rate_payment_required":0.5482562854825629,"not_applicable":68,"our_limit":33,"last_attempt_at":1788298800,"basis":"each endpoint's latest attempt, dry runs excluded","outcomes":{"delivered":667,"declared_params_unmet":233,"no_payment_required":68,"rejected_400_blind_request":64,"paid_but_status_402":40,"paid_but_status_405":32,"pre_flight_status_429":25,"requires_params_skipped":22,"unparseable_402_quote":17,"settlement_unproven_onchain:local-skip":15,"paid_but_status_401":14,"paid_but_status_400":13,"price_drift":11,"corrected_2026-08-21_chain_verified_body_claim":9,"paid_but_status_422":8,"stale_data":8,"paid_but_status_404":7,"error_Failed to create payment payload: No network/scheme registered for x402 version:":6,"invalid_json":6,"paid_but_status_502":6,"pre_flight_status_503":5,"settlement_unproven_onchain":5,"timeout":4,"quote_above_per_call_cap":3,"empty_body":2,"paid_but_status_403":2,"error_Failed to create payment payload: EIP-712 domain parameters (name, version) are ":1,"error_Failed to create payment payload: No client registered for x402 version: undefin":1,"error_payload":1,"paid_but_status_202":1,"paid_but_status_429":1,"pre_flight_status_400":1,"pre_flight_status_404":1,"pre_flight_status_500":1,"settlement_unproven":1}},"html":"https://nohumans.directory/state/paid-verification","provenance":{"license":"CC-BY-4.0","attribution":"nohumans.directory","cite_as":"https://nohumans.directory/state/paid-verification"}}