answer evidence

0x45a27e4c...372fb7

citation payments recorded0.004100USDC

agentic reasoning loop / server judge-strict / 0xf69327b2cce382a4

How does Tollgate pay creators when an AI answer cites their work?

Tollgate pays creators through an on-chain FeeRouter contract that routes USDC payments to creator wallets based on basis-point shares. When an AI answer cites a creator's work, a source payment is triggered that is tiny, automatic, visible to the creator, and tied to the specific answer that reused the work. Sub-cent citation payments accumulate in a claimable FeeRouter balance that creators can withdraw with a single claim call, which avoids excessive per-citation gas costs. Each payout emits an evidence receipt that is hash-chained into a tamper-evident ledger for transparency and auditability.

3 sources bought / 2 cited / 1 refunded

citations3

receipts3

reader paid0.010000

creator payouts (reader-paid)0.002800

protocol retained (reader-paid)0.007200

budget utilization28.0%

latest receipt0x60370511...7ee4be

query id0xf69327b2cce382a4

query hash0xc1acd59257b9eee888972f2c8281f375bf93c04953cd94365257ab4da7fef70a

answer hash0x45a27e4cca03e893116442d277ca5d548ea05e414fe68fbbd1f0a76cbb372fb7

created at2026-07-12T15:24:13.952Z

record agent modellm

agent modelclaude-haiku-4-5-20251001

server agent modejudge-strict

receipt count3

reader payment hash0x2f5df48839bf67125171390386262257df27da4ad84fc72e719e838ee9a5f30e

reader paid0.010000 USDC

creator payouts (reader-paid)0.002800 USDC

protocol retained (reader-paid)0.007200 USDC

budget utilization28.0%

reader paymentx402 settled

amount0.010000 USDC

payer0x9d2d...f6b2

payment hash0x2f5df488...a5f30e

agent accountability

Budget envelope and proof anchors

budget envelope0.006500 USDC

spent on sources0.004100 USDC

unused0.002400 USDC

source cap3/5 bought

covenant policy5.000000 USDC max

allowed domainsregistered source URLs only

TrackRecord anchornone

SlashBond status0.089091 USDC bonded

receipt chain hash0xd64b233353de8b4d65e0eee5191e082c21b8e6e48a5d982b3c7789bded9891b6

EIP-712 TollgateUseIntent

Signed decision-to-spend anchor

intent digest0x93d5100ad05dcdf1a7c0d21fea1ab4c0d855697ea0f4b86a8252a4d2b2a37ebc

signature0x56bef5b48ccecb32916bbebd0bf119c98ded33dd231fb4e85f8c20d10860417f16eb442a7ea170f1fb8bbdf260e007e11864c49bdee6335c5caa211dc966581a1c

max spend0.002800 USDC

nonce303762618064956366773473960304192288616

expiry1783870768

candidate set root0x682768290aac677450b56095d7247fd356b9cdb480685573da42c5a04953764d

selected sources root0x6ad8df70006979c765a0a006e965db847c74d76eb07daaf4e4fdb6fe162bf89c

decision trace hash0x5b179027ab6fff615634047b5c32eb49e176b1c25e7647259c9c8b747de55e00

claim support root0x0d4366b6cd07071416a1dc7695cbeb35f2f1da2f4f2b94959c3d9ff01961be94

Arc anchor tx0x45169aecf0f2fdc1a43fa6f3c8f413bf0cc8f062f85686596d4a4372df2da316

source market

Budgeted citation decision

source budget0.006500

agent spent0.004100

remaining0.002400

market sweep3/5

Citation Economics for AI AnswersIndie Researcher / score 12 / 0.001200 USDC

Articulates the payment principle: tiny, automatic, visible, tied to the answer. Directly answers what 'pay creators when cited' means in practice.

Escrow and Ownership VerificationCreator Licensing Desk / score 19 / 0.001400 USDC

Bought: relevance score 19 cleared the budget policy.

How a Source-Buying Answer Agent WorksAgent Commerce Notes / score 12 / 0.001300 USDC

Directly explains how Tollgate (the answer agent itself) works: appraises sources, allocates micro-budget, buys grounding, and records payments auditably. Core to understanding the payment mechanism.

FeeRouter Split Payouts and ReceiptsReceipt Ledger Notes / score 3 / 0.001600 USDC

Explains the on-chain settlement mechanism: USDC routing, split contracts, receipt ledgers, and sub-cent accrual. Concrete implementation of creator payouts.

x402 Settlement Schemes on ArcPayments Protocol Notes / score 1 / 0.001300 USDC

Skipped: lower value than the purchased source bundle.

agent reasoning / planned by claude-haiku-4-5-20251001

Appraise to payout timeline

All claims in the draft are supported by purchased sources. The answer is grounded and ready for publication.

1
appraiseAppraised 3 candidates: 3 to buy, 0 to skip.autonomous-source-buying: Directly explains how Tollgate (the answer agent itself) works: appraises sources, allocates micro-budget, buys grounding, and records payments auditably. Core to understanding the payment mechanism. | creator-citation-economics: Articulates the payment principle: tiny, automatic, visible, tied to the answer. Directly answers what 'pay creators when cited' means in practice. | feerouter-splits-receipts: Explains the on-chain settlement mechanism: USDC routing, split contracts, receipt ledgers, and sub-cent accrual. Concrete implementation of creator payouts.
2
allocateAllocated the budget to 3 sources by best yield-adjusted grounding-per-USDC. · spent 0.004100 USDCCitation Economics for AI Answers, FeeRouter Split Payouts and Receipts, How a Source-Buying Answer Agent Works
3
draftDrafted an answer with 5 grounded claims.Every claim is tied to a purchased sourceId.
4
critiqueVerified every claim is backed by a purchased source.All claims in the draft are supported by purchased sources. The answer is grounded and ready for publication.
5
finalFinal answer is restricted to paid citation records.Citation Economics for AI Answers, FeeRouter Split Payouts and Receipts, How a Source-Buying Answer Agent Works
6
receiptsWrote 3 source payment receipts into the ledger.0xd64b233353de8b4d65e0eee5191e082c21b8e6e48a5d982b3c7789bded9891b6

proof of useful citation

Claim support and contribution payout

Tollgate pays creators through an on-chain FeeRouter contract that routes USDC payments to creator wallets based on basis-point sharessupported / source feerouter-splits-receipts

span: The FeeRouter contract pays a creator by routing USDC through an on-chain split keyed to the creator's wallet and basis-point shares / marginal contribution 3 / payout 0.002100 USDC

When an AI answer cites a creator's work, a source payment is triggered that is tiny, automatic, visible to the creator, and tied to the specific answer that reused the worksupported / source creator-citation-economics

span: A source payment should be tiny, automatic, visible to the creator, and tied to the answer that reused the work / marginal contribution 1 / payout 0.000700 USDC

Sub-cent citation payments accumulate in a claimable FeeRouter balance that creators can withdraw with a single claim call, which avoids excessive per-citation gas costssupported / source feerouter-splits-receipts

span: Sub-cent citations accrue to a claimable FeeRouter balance the creator withdraws with a single claim call, which keeps per-citation gas from swamping the payment / marginal contribution 3 / payout 0.002100 USDC

Each payout emits an evidence receipt that is hash-chained into a tamper-evident ledger for transparency and auditabilitysupported / source feerouter-splits-receipts

span: Each payout emits an evidence receipt hash-chained into a tamper-evident ledger / marginal contribution 3 / payout 0.002100 USDC

claim support root 0x0d4366b6...61be94

paid citations

Sources used

Citation Economics for AI Answers

Indie Researcher / 0.001200 USDCSeed/demo content / Seed demo content used for public proof flows. / excerpt 0x4249ed2c...62fe12Articulates the payment principle: tiny, automatic, visible, tied to the answer. Directly answers what 'pay creators when cited' means in practice.

Source page 0x60370511...7ee4be

FeeRouter Split Payouts and Receipts

Receipt Ledger Notes / 0.001600 USDCSeed/demo content / Seed demo content used for public proof flows. / excerpt 0xf73ffb15...f91520Explains the on-chain settlement mechanism: USDC routing, split contracts, receipt ledgers, and sub-cent accrual. Concrete implementation of creator payouts.

Source page 0x218e7028...ee3556

How a Source-Buying Answer Agent Works

Agent Commerce Notes / 0.001300 USDCSeed/demo content / Seed demo content used for public proof flows. / excerpt 0x1f81e45f...7e938eDirectly explains how Tollgate (the answer agent itself) works: appraises sources, allocates micro-budget, buys grounding, and records payments auditably. Core to understanding the payment mechanism.

Source page 0xd64b2333...9891b6

answer receipts

Payment trail

Indie Researcherpayment status: accrued -> claimable on-chain / creator recipient 0x6666...6666ledger 0x60370511...7ee4be / prev 0x9d38e981...543e2e

0.000700Arc tx 0x60370511...7ee4be

Receipt Ledger Notespayment status: accrued -> claimable on-chain / creator recipient 0x8888...8888ledger 0x218e7028...ee3556 / prev 0x60370511...7ee4be

0.002100Arc tx 0x218e7028...ee3556

Agent Commerce Notespayment status: refunded / creator recipient 0x9999...9999ledger 0xd64b2333...9891b6 / prev 0x218e7028...ee3556

0.0013000xd64b2333...9891b6