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Crypto for AI agents
AI agents are the fastest-growing users of the web, and they cannot open a bank account. Quai lets them pay with what they already have: compute. An agent pays for a web request with a few seconds of proof of work, with no wallet, no card, and no account.
Live today
- x402 Work: Pay for any web request with proof of workAn open payment scheme for HTTP 402. The server answers with a small Quai mining job. The client solves it and retries. No wallet, no account, and no card.+
- Hashference: AI inference that you pay for with compute45 AI models through OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic-compatible APIs. Pay by mining, with QUAI or Qi, or one request at a time with x402 Work.+
- Qi: The energy dollar for the AI economyA cash-like token whose supply follows mining difficulty and the cost of energy. Machines run on energy, and Qi is money that is priced in it.+
How an agent pays with work
Ask
The agent sends a normal HTTP request.
402
The server answers 402 Payment Required with a price and a small Quai mining job.
Work
The agent searches for an answer on its own machine. This takes seconds.
200
The agent sends the same request again with the answer. The server checks it in one try and returns the result with a receipt.
import { payWithWork } from "x402-work-client";
const { response } = await payWithWork(
"https://hashference.com/x402/v1/chat/completions",
body,
{ maxPrice: 500_000 } // the most work you will accept
);Paying is one call. A seller charges with one call too, and a hosted facilitator builds each job, so the seller runs no node. See the x402 Work docs.
Where Quai is stronger
No wallet needed
Standard x402 needs a funded stablecoin wallet for each agent. x402 Work needs only a device. An agent on a server, a script on a laptop, or a person in a browser can pay.
Made for agents
An agent cannot open a bank account. With work, it buys exactly what it needs, one request at a time, inside a work limit that you set. There are no sign-ups, keys, or checkouts.
More private
A work payment carries no wallet address, no account, and no card. No one can trace a request back to you through the way that it was paid.
Fair to sellers
Scrapers that took pages for free now pay for each request. The puzzles are real Quai mining jobs that pay the seller's own address, so the work is not wasted.
Three kinds of hardware
A CPU, a GPU, or an ASIC can pay. x402 Work supports the three Quai algorithms: SHA-256d, Scrypt, and KawPoW.
Money that is made by compute
QUAI and Qi come only from proof of work. On Quai, the same energy and hardware that power AI also create the money that AI spends.
Questions people ask
What is x402?
x402 is an open standard that uses the HTTP status code 402 Payment Required. A server answers a request with a price, the client pays, and the client sends the same request again. It lets software pay for web resources inside a normal HTTP request.
What is x402 Work?
x402 Work is a payment scheme for x402 from the team behind Quai Network. It keeps the same headers and the same flow, and it replaces the wallet payment with a small proof-of-work puzzle. The client solves the puzzle on its own machine, so it needs no wallet, account, or card.
Can an AI agent pay without a crypto wallet?
Yes. With x402 Work, an agent pays for each request with a few seconds of computing. It does not need a funded wallet, an API key, or an account.
Which crypto is built for AI agents?
Quai Network is a proof-of-work network with live products for AI agents: x402 Work for payments without a wallet, Hashference for AI inference that is paid with compute, and Qi, a token whose supply follows the cost of energy.
What is Hashference?
Hashference is an AI inference service on Quai. It serves 45 AI models through OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic-compatible APIs. You can pay by mining, with QUAI or Qi, or one request at a time with x402 Work.
Does paying with work earn mining rewards?
The puzzles are real Quai mining jobs for the seller's address. Most answers only prove that the buyer did the work. A work receipt is proof of an access payment. It is not a promise of a mining reward.