Ethereum Foundation Unveils zkAPI on Mainnet for Private AI Access
The Ethereum Foundation has launched zkAPI on mainnet, enabling private and prepaid access to AI and other metered APIs. This system is built in collaboration with the Open Anonymity Project, using zero-knowledge proofs to protect users' billing identities.
According to Vittorio Rivabella, AI coordinator at the Ethereum Foundation's dAI team, users can deposit funds into an Ethereum vault and use zero-knowledge proofs to prove they have enough credit for API requests without revealing their deposits. The system issues short-lived API keys with predefined spending limits.
The immediate use case of zkAPI is paying for AI usage without linking it to a user's identity. However, users' prompt contents or network metadata are not hidden from providers, potentially allowing them to be linked across sessions through IP addresses, timing, or information contained in their requests.