Gateway Nanopayments Primer
Circle Developer Notes / 0.002400 USDCreceipt evidence
0xb5d9af22...252f53
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 hash0xb5d9af22273c7e947f4874176dc28e888f52eebe26e5affc6b1bacba52252f53
previous hash0x700f0c1a343b194c61a325042ad609202f347038e52b7f10bc9007a66c03456d
query id0x9f6f708c0e24bf60
source idcircle-gateway-nano
creator wallet0x2222...2222
created at2026-06-23T13:37:27.748Z
payment resourceforum-fee-router:0xeff9bc359e8f2a5eabce55af3f1bb24f98eabf59
query payment hashnot reader-paid
payer0x4164F5B52ecc6F847f03071A287b0B59954cbcEe
transaction0x2c973275...da9a1e
FeeRouter split9
FeeRouter createSplit0x7af6abb8...7478d6
FeeRouter pay0x2c973275...da9a1e
answer context
What does an agent need to settle nanopayments to creators on Arc, and how does budgeting work?
To settle nanopayments to creators on Arc, an agent needs: (1) USDC stablecoin for gas and settlement, (2) x402 payment protocol support for sub-cent value transfers, (3) batching infrastructure (like Circle Gateway's EIP-3009 authorizations) to avoid per-payment gas costs, and (4) Arc's app kits for payment workflows with sub-second finality. For budgeting, agents use covenant-style spend controls (like Forum mandates) that bind the agent budget, publish receipts, and make spend enforcement enforceable rather than advisory. Payment amounts should be tiny, automatic, visible to creators, and tied to the specific answer or citation that reused their work.
Open answer evidenceExplains batching mechanism (EIP-3009) that enables sub-cent nanopayments without per-payment gas—essential technical detail for how settlement actually works at scale.