Ethereum Foundation and OA Launch zkAPI for Private AI Payment

zkAPI keeps prompts awayy from payment servers, but AI providers can read submitted content and may connect sessions through repeated details. The Ethereum Foundation and the Open Anonymity Project have developed zkAPI, a zero-knowledge protocol that lets users pay for AI services and other paid APIs without linking their identity to their requests. Live on Ethereum mainnet, the system separates payment records from the prompts and queries sent to service providers, although it does not hide all network activity or the content users submit. How zkAPI Separates Payments From API Requests The Open Anonymity Project announced its collaboration with the Ethereum Foundation in a September 25, 2026, post introducing its public AI chat services, OA-chat. The foundation also promoted zkAPI on October 2, describing it as “a means for private AI.” The protocol was originally proposed by Ethereum researcher Davide Crapis and co-founder Vitalik Buterin, while the Open Anonymity team built the client, server, smart contracts, and browser integration. Users first deposit ETH into the ZkAPIVault contract on Ethereum mainnet. The deposit is then turned into a commitment via the use of a Merkle tre...