Circle’s development department has rolled out a permit-free ‘Nanopayments’ system that promises to be gas-free $USDC Transfer amounts are as low as $0.000001, and it directly targets artificial intelligence (AI) agents and high-frequency internet commerce.
Circle’s new tool addresses gas fees in machine-to-machine commerce
Circle Developer, Circle’s builder-centric division, announced this week that its new Nanopayments feature is now available in private beta on testnet. This system utilizes Circle Gateway to allow data to be transferred without using gas. $USDC It’s down to 1 in a million.
Yes, that’s $0.000001.
Timing is hard to ignore. AI agents, especially autonomous tools like Openclaw, have exploded in popularity in recent months. These agents view, transact, and execute tasks independently, increasing the need for programmable, machine-native payments. Paying a penny per API call or task execution is nothing new. It’s becoming a functional requirement.
Circle’s proposition is straightforward. Eliminate gas friction and allow software to pay for software.
The “Gas Free” mechanism is powered by Circle Paymaster and allows you to pay transaction fees in the following ways: $USDC It is not a native blockchain token like ETH. User grants minor privileges $USDC Once you allow it, our system will process the payment behind the scenes. Combined with Gateway’s unified balance architecture across a dozen supported blockchains, developers can move value between chains without having to juggle fragmented liquidity.
At the infrastructure layer, gateways are integrated. $USDC Integrate balances into a non-custodial smart contract system, enabling near-instant cross-chain liquidity once funds are deposited. Transfers are performed through a signed write and mint process, designed to reduce latency and eliminate the need for traditional bridge workflows.
The use case is unapologetically machine-centric. Circle said the system is built for AI agents, high-frequency payments, streaming payments, usage-based billing, and programmable commerce. Imagine IoT devices compensating each other in real-time, or AI agents paying per query without a human approval loop.
Still, the beta label is important.
Nanopayments is still in the private testnet deployment stage, with unanswered questions regarding throughput limits, transaction fraud, and compliance guardrails. Automated micropayment systems can lead to spam and regulatory scrutiny if not carefully monitored. Circle said the system has built-in monitoring tools and compliance checks, but durability will ultimately be determined by actual stress testing.
The broader picture is clear. As autonomous AI tools expand, the underlying financial rails must also evolve. Whether Nanopayments becomes foundational infrastructure or just a developer experiment depends on adoption, not marketing copy.
For now, the AI economy has a new financial sandbox.
Frequently asked questions 🤖
- What are Circle Nanopayments?Permissionless beta system that realizes gas-free operation $USDC With Circle Gateway, you can send as little as $0.000001.
- How does the gas-free feature work?Circle Paymaster lets you pay transaction fees $USDC Instead of native blockchain tokens.
- Who is this designed for?Mainly AI agents, machine-to-machine payments, and high-frequency programmable commerce.
- Is it live on mainnet?No, it’s currently in private beta with early developer access on testnet.
