Ethereum's zkAPI Unveils Private API Payments with Mainnet Launch
Ethereum's zkAPI has gone live on mainnet, marking a significant milestone in the development of private and prepaid access to AI and other metered APIs. The system, built with the Open Anonymity Project, allows users to pay for API services without revealing their billing identities.
Users can deposit funds into an Ethereum vault and use zero-knowledge proofs to prove they have enough credit to pay for API requests. This approach enables private payments, but it does not hide prompt contents or network metadata from providers, which could potentially link users across sessions through IP addresses or request information.
The launch follows a February proposal by Ethereum Foundation researcher Davide Crapis and co-founder Vitalik Buterin for ZK-based API usage credits. The new release turns that design into a working mainnet implementation, with a local client and software development kit also available.