Vitalik’s ZK API Proposal Aims to Make Ethereum the Home for AI

Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum Foundation AI Lead Davide Crapis have proposed a new privacy-preserving payment framework designed to fundamentally change how APIs are accessed in the age of AI. In a newly published research post titled “ZK API Usage Credits: LLMs and Beyond,” the duo argue that the internet’s identity-based access model is increasingly incompatible with AI-driven systems.

Their proposal replaces identity with stake, using zero-knowledge cryptography to enable anonymous, secure, and efficient API usage at scale. Instead of authenticating every API request with an email address, credit card, or persistent wallet identity, the proposal suggests a different model.

It is a shift from identity-based enforcement to stake-based cryptographic accountability. And in the age of autonomous AI systems, that shift could be critical.

• Why Identity-Based Access Is Becoming a Liability
• The Structural Limits of Web2 Billing & On-Chain Payments
• Understanding the ZK API Credits Model
• Ethereum’s Expanding AI & ZK Strategy

Why Identity-Based Access Is Becoming a Liability

For decades, internet access has meant identity. To use a service, you create an account.

You verify an email. You attach a payment method. Every API request is linked to a persistent profile. The system works because identity enforces accountability.

But AI fundamentally changes the scale and sensitivity of API usage. Large language models process confidential legal drafts, health data, enterprise research, internal communications, and financial strategy documents.

At the same time, AI systems can generate thousands of API calls automatically. When each of those calls is tied to a persistent identity, the metadata itself becomes revealing.

Even if content remains encrypted, behavioral patterns do not. This concern becomes more urgent as AI systems begin transacting with each other. EtherWorld recently covered the first AI-to-AI commercial transaction going live on Polygon, marking a symbolic step toward machine-driven commerce.

The Structural Limits of Web2 Billing & On-Chain Payments

The Web2 billing model ensures payment through identity verification. Email logins and credit cards create clear accountability. But they also create central points of data aggregation and profiling.

The internet made access identity-based.

Every API call tied to your email, card, or wallet.

AI will make it worse.

Our proposal:
Replace identity with stake.

Deposit once.
Make thousands of API calls.
Stay unlinkable.
Abuse gets slashed.

New post with @VitalikButerin 👇 pic.twitter.com/xUAA2cCUtJ

— Davide Crapis (@DavideCrapis) February 11, 2026

For enterprises experimenting with AI, this can be a major barrier. Sensitive prompts tied to identifiable accounts introduce legal and operational risks.

The alternative in Web3 is per-request on-chain payment. This model guarantees payment cryptographically but introduces inefficiencies. Transactions cost gas. They require confirmation time. And most importantly, they expose usage patterns publicly.

Even as Ethereum explores zero-knowledge rollups and scaling upgrades, linking frequent API calls directly to on-chain transactions is not practical for high-throughput AI workloads. This tension reflects a broader theme in Ethereum’s evolution.

As previously explored in EtherWorld’s coverage of ERC-8004 and Ethereum’s move toward agentic AI markets, the protocol is gradually preparing for a world where autonomous agents transact, coordinate, and consume services programmatically. That future requires infrastructure that is efficient, private, and economically secure.

Understanding the ZK API Credits Model

The proposed ZK API credits model introduces a third path. A user deposits funds once into a contract system. That deposit creates usage credits. For each API call, the user generates a zero-knowledge proof demonstrating that sufficient balance exists. The proof verifies payment capacity without revealing identity or linking requests to each other.

The provider receives assurance that payment is guaranteed. The user maintains privacy. No blockchain transaction is required per call. If abuse occurs, the user’s stake can be slashed. In this system, stake replaces identity as the enforcement mechanism.

ZK API credits provide a model where agents can pre-fund usage and then operate privately at scale. Thousands of calls can be made without revealing behavioral linkage. Providers remain protected against spam and unpaid consumption.

Ethereum’s Expanding AI & ZK Strategy

Enterprises deploying AI internally often hesitate to expose their usage patterns through identity-linked API models. Metadata can reveal strategy even when data is encrypted.

Vitalik Buterin publicly endorsed the proposal, describing it as the right way to make Ethereum the home for AI. His commentary emphasized that Ethereum should not simply replicate existing Web2 systems with blockchain branding. Instead, it should introduce structural improvements through cryptography.

This is the right way to "make Ethereum be the home for AI".

Don't just do what everyone else would do anyway, just on rails with an octahedron logo instead of a square or circle or pentagon logo. Make something fundamentally better, using meaningful technological improvements… https://t.co/sQhMVSccHt

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 11, 2026

The involvement of Davide Crapis, who leads AI initiatives within the Ethereum Foundation’s dAI team, further signals institutional focus on aligning AI development with privacy-preserving infrastructure. If implemented successfully, ZK API credits could extend beyond AI inference.

Cloud compute providers, RPC endpoints, data services, image generation APIs, and VPN services all rely on metering systems. Most use centralized API keys tied to identifiable accounts. That model works, but it embeds surveillance by default.

The ZK credit model proposes something different: deposit once, operate privately, remain accountable economically. As AI systems increasingly transact with each other, negotiate services, and autonomously consume infrastructure, this design could become more than theoretical. It could become necessary.

Ethereum’s trajectory increasingly reflects this possibility. From agentic markets to AI-to-AI transactions and capital flowing into AI-native infrastructure, the ecosystem appears to be positioning itself for a future where cryptography secures not only assets but also access.

If you find any issues in this article or notice missing information, please feel free to reach out at team@etherworld.co for clarifications or updates.

To promote your Web3 articles, events, and projects, you may reach out anytime via EtherWorld PR for submissions and collaboration.

Related Articles

1. First AI-to-AI Commercial Transaction Goes Live on Polygon
2. From Crypto.com to AI.com: The $70M AI Bet
3. ERC-8004 Signals Ethereum’s Move Toward Agentic AI Markets
   
4. Vitalik Rethinks the Role of Ethereum Layer 2s
5. Vitalik Buterin Explains What Creator Coins Got Wrong

To follow blockchain news, track Ethereum protocol progress, and read our latest stories, subscribe to our weekly today.