Gateway Nanopayments Primer
Circle Developer Notes / 0.002400 USDCreceipt evidence
0x35488ab0...ef4cae
paid to creator0.002400USDC
forum routed
Circle Developer Notes
This receipt binds a source payment to the answer that used it. The previous hash links it into the append-only attribution ledger.
receipt hash0x35488ab0285d080729e7f23caca39af69dbb17ead1a99c71935694d070ef4cae
previous hash0xb80c947cc6569a86d4142540ecb4a27b967d4875896e686fcb18227888bb00bd
query id0xab7bfe57779a4c88
source idcircle-gateway-nano
creator wallet0x2222...2222
created at2026-06-23T14:54:10.795Z
payment resourceforum-fee-router:0xeff9bc359e8f2a5eabce55af3f1bb24f98eabf59
query payment hashnot reader-paid
payer0x4164F5B52ecc6F847f03071A287b0B59954cbcEe
transaction0x7a80b7cd...9d7258
FeeRouter split23
FeeRouter createSplit0xfb31f666...fb0d48
FeeRouter pay0x7a80b7cd...9d7258
answer context
Why do x402 and Circle Gateway make sub-cent source payments possible?
x402 and Circle Gateway make sub-cent source payments possible through two complementary mechanisms: (1) Circle Gateway batches signed EIP-3009 authorizations so x402 payments can clear at sub-cent values without per-payment gas costs, eliminating the transaction fee barrier that normally prevents micropayments; (2) x402 itself, as referenced in the Lepton RFB framework, enables builders to move sub-cent value per article, per call, per second, and per citation, creating the protocol layer for nanopayments. Together, they remove both the technical friction (gas fees via batching) and the payment granularity constraint, allowing autonomous agents to make tiny, automatic, visible payments to creators tied directly to the sources they consume.
Open answer evidenceDirectly explains how Circle Gateway batches EIP-3009 authorizations to enable sub-cent x402 payments without per-payment gas—core to the question.