Ethereum Foundation launches zkAPI for anonymous AI payments
Ethereum (ETH)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
lookonchain.com reports that the Ethereum Foundation has partnered with the Open Anonymity Project to launch zkAPI on the Ethereum mainnet. This new system uses zero-knowledge proofs to decouple payments from user identities, allowing individuals to deposit assets like ETH and USDC into a vault contract. Users can then authorize AI API usage without revealing their personal details to service providers or payment processors.
The workflow involves devices generating proofs to verify sufficient funds and prevent double-spending, which servers validate to issue temporary API keys. Service providers record usage and generate signed credentials, while the Ethereum network only logs deposits, settlements, and withdrawals. The solution utilizes cryptographic technologies including Groth16, BN254, Poseidon, and Merkle trees to ensure privacy.
Initially targeted at AI inference scenarios where prompts may contain sensitive health or financial data, the mechanism also supports blockchain RPC and media generation. Users retain the ability to withdraw funds directly from the blockchain if a server ceases operation.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for ETH, measured when this story was written up on 2 October 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
ETH is trading at $2,706.42 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 58.2%, indicating strong immediate buying pressure compared to the 4-hour ratio of 51.1%. This short-term intensity contrasts with the 24-hour buy ratio of 49.4%, suggesting that recent buying activity is outpacing the broader daily trend. The 1-hour volume delta is positive at $15,378,549, showing that aggressive buyers are currently dominating the market flow. In contrast, the 24-hour volume delta is negative at -$8,490,209, revealing that sellers have dominated the volume over the longer timeframe. CVD for the 24-hour close sits at +$41,965,057, indicating that despite the negative delta, cumulative volume has favored buyers over the full day. Spot volume reached $709,347,818 with over 3.1 million trades, highlighting active participation.
The latest daily buy ratio of 46.8% sits at the 16th percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 49.5% - weaker buying than most days.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for ETH, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, the 7-day average buy ratio was 48.1%, making today's 24-hour ratio of 49.4% slightly above the weekly norm by 1.3 points. Volume was 1.14x the average, indicating that trading activity is elevated compared to typical days. However, the 8-day volume delta total was -$143,306,371, showing that net selling pressure has outweighed buying over the longer period. This is an ordinary day for the coin in terms of sentiment, as the buy ratio is only marginally higher than the weekly average. The price change over eight days was +0.7%, reflecting a stable but modest upward trend despite the negative net volume delta.