The year is ending with a different kind of energy around agentic AI less hype, more real work. Analysts are now projecting that decentralized AI networks could generate as much as $30 trillion in value by 2030, and the payment rails supporting them are already busy: stablecoin settlements have cleared more than $25 billion so far this year.In that fast-growing landscape, Kite AI is doing something different it’s making payments between humans and AI agents nearly invisible.
The Layer-1 blockchain’s native token, $KITE, trades around $0.0981 USD down 7.25% on the day but slightly higher on the week giving the network a $176.6 million market cap and about $116.6 million in 24-hour volume across Binance and Upbit.
On December 2, Kite rolled out x402b, a major protocol upgrade developed with Pieverse. It introduces gasless, cross-chain micropayments for creators and AI agents, cutting transaction fees by roughly 90% and expanding on the 932,000 weekly transactions logged in October.
Just a day earlier, Animoca Brands announced a $10 million grant program backed by 20% of Kite’s token supply, funding more than 50 AI-focused dApps. With 715 million testnet agent calls already processed, Kite is building a working foundation for the “agentic” economy many still only talk about.
x402b Rollout: Gasless Royalties for the AI Economy
The x402b extension, launched December 2 through Pieverse, upgrades Kite’s earlier x402 protocol a modern revival of the old HTTP 402 “payment required” standard into something creators can actually use.
Instead of paying gas or relying on centralized processors, agents can now bill for per-query data or royalties automatically, during an interaction. That means a song, a piece of code, or an AI-generated image can trigger micro-settlements on its own, without wallet signatures or delays.
Built to match AP2 and ERC-8004 specifications, the update enables verifiable delegation between agents while keeping overhead minimal. Kite says it’s seeing up to 90% lower costs compared with older setups.
Momentum has been building since October, when the network’s 932,000 weekly transactions showed a 10,000% monthly growth rate. The upgrade now extends that efficiency across BNB Chain and Ethereum, connected to Kite’s Avalanche-based core.
“Kite’s goal is simple,” said CEO Chi Zhang on December 3. “To make micropayments disappear. Creators should earn inside the loop, not around it.”
The update is already drawing attention. On X, someone explained how Agent Passports built on SPACE handle automated royalty flows, while Lofenijm highlighted gasless staking for developers. With 16.7 million testnet users and more than 401 million transactions, the momentum behind x402b is clear.
Animoca Grants: $10 Million for 50+ Creator dApps
Kite’s December 1 partnership with Animoca Brands added another piece to the puzzle real funding. The company committed $10 million in grants, drawn from 20% of $KITE’s total supply, to help launch over 50 AI applications focused on creator tools and automated agents.
Grant sizes range from $50,000 to $500,000, prioritizing projects that integrate x402 micropayments. One early case is a set of agents managing NFT royalties using Aethir’s GPU network, a collaboration that traces back to March 2025.
The funding follows hardware optimizations from Samsung Next and interoperability improvements via LayerZero. Meanwhile, the Kite SDK continues to lower the barrier to building on-chain AI. By November, developers had deployed more than 20 million testnet agents using KiteVM many without writing a single line of low-level code.
As one developer put it on X, “Kite’s x402b basically turns HTTP into a value protocol. Watching agents negotiate payments feels like seeing the web reboot itself.”
Tokenomics: Incentives for Builders and Agents
Kite’s token model keeps the emphasis on participation. The supply is capped at 10 billion $KITE, with 1.8 billion (18%) in circulation. The breakdown stays community-heavy: 48% to grants and airdrops, 20% for AI services, 20% for the team (locked and vested), and 12% for early investors.
Backers include PayPal Ventures and Coinbase Ventures, who invested a combined $33 million.
Participants staking in Kite’s Proof-of-AI (PoAI) system earn returns of roughly 15–20% APY, depending on how much compute or validation work they contribute. Part of every x402 transaction fee goes toward token buybacks, which slowly tighten supply and keep $KITE slightly deflationary over time.
The November Launchpool distributed 150 million tokens and generated $263 million in trading volume despite an 82% correction from earlier peaks. Kite’s fully diluted valuation stands near $981 million, and analysts forecast $0.35 per token by mid-2026 if the network reaches 1 million agents a potential 28% ROI extending through 2030.
Products: SDK and Subnets for Creator Autonomy
Kite’s ecosystem now supports developers from prototype to product:
Kite SDK & KiteVM: no- and low-code tools for deploying AI agents within secure subnets; already 20 million+ testnet deployments.
x402 / x402b Protocols: the micropayment rails driving 932,000 weekly transactions, used for royalties, licensing, and per-query payments.
Together, they let small teams not just big labs build agents that earn autonomously and settle value on-chain.
Risks and Market Challenges
The ecosystem’s potential is real, but adoption still has to prove itself. Many of the 50+ grant-backed dApps are only now moving to mainnet, and while 715 million testnet agent calls show strong activity, consistent usage will decide whether those experiments stick.
Regulation could also shift the narrative. New U.S. AI legislation and the upcoming MiCA 2.0 updates in Europe could end up classifying x402-style micropayments as unregulated transfers a move that would make it harder for large enterprises to plug Kite’s system into their existing compliance frameworks.
Market volatility hasn’t helped either. $KITE is still 49% below its all-time high and trades with 13.6% weekly volatility. Competing AI networks like Render and Fetch.ai are fighting for the same developer attention. If Bitcoin retraces, analysts see a possible pullback to around $0.0736.
Kite’s Creator Catalyst: The Spark for an Agentic Economy
Kite’s recent milestones the x402b upgrade and Animoca’s $10 million grant program aren’t marketing plays. They’re the start of a full ecosystem for human and machine creators to transact seamlessly.
With 16.7 million testnet users, a growing pool of funded builders, and a network that’s learning how to reward real contribution, Kite’s positioning itself at the heart of the agentic movement.
As one developer wrote on X this week:
“It’s refreshing to see a project building tools that make AI useful not just speculative.”
If the momentum carries through early 2026, Kite may become the first blockchain where creators and AI agents truly share an economy.
