Ethereum
Ethereum Foundation Releases zkAPI for Anonymous AI Service Payments
A new protocol allows users to fund artificial intelligence queries using cryptographic proofs to decouple user identity from submitted prompts.
The Ethereum Foundation, in partnership with the Open Anonymity Project, launched zkAPI on the Ethereum mainnet on October 1. The protocol enables users to pay for artificial intelligence services while preventing service providers and billing intermediaries from linking payment identities to specific user prompts.
The system functions by allowing users to deposit funds such as USDC or ETH into a smart contract vault on Ethereum, creating a private digital balance. When querying an AI model, the user's device generates a zero-knowledge proof verifying sufficient funds without exposing transaction history or personal details. These proofs generate temporary, capped API keys routed through provider OpenRouter.
The implementation builds on a February 2026 research proposal co-authored by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Davide Crapis, head of the foundation's decentralized AI team. The project has also released OA Chat, an open-source, browser-based chat application, while repository documentation continues to classify the zkAPI protocol as experimental.
These two are not the same thing, and one does not produce the other. The left is how this single article reads, from its tone alone. The right is the site’s own call on the asset, from indicators and analysis. Press tone feeds no score and no signal: on the only corpus this site has measured, daily tone tracked the move that had already happened and showed no measurable link with what followed.
More on Ethereum All pieces →
- Sell Ether Trades Flat as U.S. Spot Ethereum ETFs Record Net Outflows
- Sell Ethereum Layer-2 Network Blast Announces Shutdown Due to Operating Costs
- Neutral Ethereum and Large-Cap Tokens Rise as Speculative Cryptocurrencies Retreat
- Sell Ethereum Layer-2 Network Blast Announces Shutdown Due to Unsustainable Operating Costs
Rewritten from the headline, the teaser and the one-line summary the qualification step produced — that is all the material there is, and nothing is added to it. The source link is kept on file so any item can be checked, and is not published here.
