Cloudflare is at a pivotal juncture as it decides between Coinbase and Stripe to issue the NET Dollar stablecoin, a decision that could significantly influence internet payment protocols. The NET Dollar will be integral to Cloudflare's "pay-per-crawl" system, which charges AI bots for accessing web content, a response to the surge in bot traffic overwhelming websites. Stripe's recent launch of the Machine Payment Protocol (MPP) and Cloudflare's subsequent introduction of an MPP-compatible proxy highlight the competition between MPP and the x402 protocol, backed by Coinbase. The issuer of the NET Dollar will have its payment standard prioritized within Cloudflare's ecosystem, potentially setting the industry norm for web payments. As Cloudflare serves 20% of global websites, its choice will have far-reaching implications for the future of internet traffic management and payment systems.