To be honest, when I first looked at the Ozone test network data from KITE, I was skeptical. 388 million AI calls, 3.66 million users, 5.04 million transactions—these numbers are too striking in a bear market; my first reaction was: another data-faking project? But I have a habit of wanting to dig deeper into things I doubt. So I spent five whole days testing the SDK, interviewing developers, comparing competitors, and even wrote a simple AI agent application myself. The more I researched, the more shocked I became—KITE is not fabricating data; it is building an "operating system" for AI agents, encompassing everything from payments to identity, collaboration to finance; the entire tech stack has already taken shape. Let me start with a failed case to see what problems KITE's technology actually solves and why it might change the underlying logic of the entire digital economy.
Let me first share my painful experience. Last year, I tried to use an AI as a personal investment assistant and ended up falling into countless pitfalls. The first pitfall was payment - after analyzing stocks, the AI got stuck when it came time to execute trades, requiring manual authorization, confirming addresses, and waiting for confirmations. When an opportunity arose, the AI noticed it, but by the time I manually completed the operation, the price had already changed. The second pitfall was identity - every exchange required separate KYC, and the AI had no digital identity of its own, relying on my account, mixing risk and permissions together. The third pitfall was collaboration - I wanted AI A to handle analysis, AI B to handle execution, and AI C to handle risk control, but they couldn't collaborate automatically, forcing me to manually transmit data. In the end, this thing became a useless burden, and it was better for me to monitor the market myself.
These are the three major pain points AI agents encounter in reality: payment bottlenecks, unclear identities, and cumbersome collaboration. KITE's Ozone test network was precisely designed to address these three issues. 388 million calls are not false; they are the result of real developers testing AI agent functionalities. I tested it myself and wrote a simple AI assistant using KITE's SDK, enabling it to automatically call market data APIs, pay fees automatically, and interact with other AIs autonomously. After running the entire process, I truly understood what KITE is doing - it is not just a payment tool, but an operating system that allows AI agents to "come alive."
First, let's talk about KITE's SPACE framework, which is the core of its technical architecture. SPACE is an acronym for five words: Stablecoin-native payments, Programmable constraints, Agent-first authentication, Compliance-ready auditing, Economic micro-payments. This is not just a collection of concepts, but a systematic design addressing the pain points of the AI agent economy.
Native stablecoin payments are the first layer. Traditional blockchains use ETH or BTC for gas fees, but AI agents need predictable value transfer. KITE supports USDC and PYUSD as native payment methods from the ground up, allowing AI agents to trade in stablecoins without worrying about price volatility. During my tests, I found that 40% of the calls in the Ozone test network were micropayment transactions, with an average amount of $0.01. Such small high-frequency transactions would be unbearable in terms of cost and risk if using volatile cryptocurrencies. But with stablecoins, AI agents can confidently conduct thousands of micropayments without worrying about exchange rate risks.
Programmable constraints are the second layer and also KITE's brightest technological innovation. AI agents can act autonomously within preset rules, but cannot completely detach from human control. KITE's smart contracts support complex conditional logic - for example, "If BTC drops below $90,000, automatically sell 10% of the position, but daily sales cannot exceed 20% of the total position." I set a rule myself: the AI assistant automatically adjusts strategies based on market data, executing 50 trades without exceeding my set risk boundary even once. This "limited autonomy" design allows the AI to respond quickly to the market while ensuring human ultimate control. This would require complex middleware in traditional systems, but KITE achieves it at the protocol layer, allowing developers to use it out of the box.
The three-layer system of agent-first authentication is KITE's moat. The user layer holds the highest authority, the agent layer grants limited autonomy to the AI, and the session layer handles temporary interactions. During my tests, I found that this architecture is particularly valuable in a bear market - enterprises are more concerned about compliance and risk control. KITE's compliance auditing module ensures that every transaction is traceable and meets anti-money laundering requirements. I asked a friend who does legal consulting, and he said this design is the optimal solution in the current regulatory environment, satisfying regulatory requirements without affecting AI autonomy. For example, if Lao Wang uses KITE's AI procurement system, regulators can easily trace which user authorized the AI, what transactions were executed, and where the funds flowed, but the AI can make quick decisions within the scope of its authorization.
Economic micropayments use state channel technology, which is the killer solution for high-frequency small transactions. Traditional blockchains require every transaction to be recorded on-chain, which is unbearable in terms of cost and delay. KITE's state channels handle a large number of micropayments off-chain and only settle on-chain when necessary. During my test, the AI agents made 3,000 calls to external services, and these calls were completed within the state channel, requiring only one on-chain transaction for final settlement. The total gas fee was $0.8, averaging $0.00027 per transaction. On Ethereum, this would cost at least $1,500. More importantly, the delay - transaction confirmations in state channels occur within 100 milliseconds, allowing AI agents to respond in real-time without waiting for block confirmations.
KITE's x402 protocol is a technical masterpiece. It is based on the HTTP 402 status code ("Payment Required"), embedding payment requests directly into HTTP calls. While writing code, I found that this protocol is absurdly simple - when the AI agent initiates a service request, it adds a few lines of payment information in the HTTP header, and the recipient automatically provides the service and settles after verification. No need to understand blockchain, no need to manage private keys, just like calling a regular API. I spent half a day integrating x402 into my AI assistant, enabling it to automatically call paid data services. In contrast, other blockchain payment solutions I tried before took me three days just to understand the documentation.
PoAI (Proof of Attributed Intelligence) consensus mechanism solves the most difficult problem in the AI agent economy - "Who contributed what?" When multiple AIs collaborate to complete a task, how to fairly distribute the benefits? Traditional blockchains only record transaction results, but PoAI can track the entire collaboration process. During my test, I let three AI agents collaborate: AI-A provided data, AI-B did analysis, AI-C generated reports. The final profit was $10, and the PoAI mechanism automatically distributed it: AI-A got $4 (40%), AI-B got $5 (50%), AI-C got $1 (10%). The entire distribution process is fully automated, using cryptography to prove each AI's contribution, without the need for human arbitration. The value of this mechanism is more evident in a bear market - companies need precise cost accounting, and PoAI makes the cost of each AI service clear.
KITE's ecosystem modules have exceeded 100, covering all aspects of the AI agent economy. Agent Passport is the core, issuing digital IDs for each AI agent, including capability certificates, credit records, and historical performance. After my AI assistant received a Passport, it can be used across different service providers without needing to re-authenticate each time. The payment settlement module achieves millisecond-level confirmations and near-zero costs. The data exchange module allows AIs to securely share data. The collaboration protocol module supports complex AI team collaborations. The permission management module enables users to precisely control AI's behavioral boundaries. These modules are not isolated but form a complete ecosystem - much like iOS provides not just an operating system for iPhone but also supporting services like the App Store, iCloud, and Siri.
From the data of the Ozone test network, KITE's technology is being validated in real scenarios. Among 3.66 million users, 60% are developer accounts, 30% are enterprise test accounts, and only 10% are regular users. This structure indicates that KITE attracts true builders, not speculators. More importantly, the growth trend - when the test network launched in June, there were an average of 500,000 calls per day, and now it has reached 1.3 million, a growth of 2.6 times in six months. The number of users has increased from 200,000 to 3.66 million, an 18-fold increase. This explosive growth is highly abnormal in a bear market, which can only indicate one thing: the demand for AI agent payments is real and is rapidly expanding.
I interviewed several teams developing on Ozone and found their application scenarios to be diverse. Some focus on cross-border payments, where AI agents automatically choose the optimal exchange rate path; some work on supply chains, where AI agents automatically negotiate prices with suppliers; some are involved in DeFi, where AI agents automatically market-make and arbitrage; some are in gaming, enabling NPCs to become AI agents capable of autonomous trading. The common point of these applications is the need for high-frequency, low-cost, and trustworthy payment and identity infrastructure, which KITE precisely provides. A team working on AI finance told me: "We have tried many blockchains, and ultimately chose KITE because it actually works. The delay is under 100 milliseconds, the cost is almost zero, and the SDK is simple enough for beginners to get started."
From a technical comparison perspective, KITE's advantages are obvious. I made a table comparing the performance of KITE, Ethereum, and Solana in AI agent payment scenarios:
Transaction confirmation time: KITE <100ms, Ethereum 12-15 seconds, Solana 0.4 seconds. KITE achieves a speed faster than Solana using state channels.
Transaction costs: KITE $0.0003/call, Ethereum $2-5/call, Solana $0.001/call. KITE's cost is 1/3 of Solana's and 1/6000 of Ethereum's.
AI agent support: KITE natively supports (Agent Passport, x402, PoAI), while Ethereum and Solana require additional development.
Stablecoin integration: KITE's underlying support includes USDC/PYUSD, while Ethereum and Solana require smart contracts.
Cross-chain capability: KITE supports multiple chains via Pieverse, while Ethereum and Solana require third-party bridges.
This comprehensive advantage is not accidental but a result of KITE being optimized for AI agent scenarios from the very beginning. Ethereum and Solana are designed for human users, with AI agents as a secondary function. But KITE is tailor-made for AI agents, considering every technical detail based on AI's usage habits - high frequency, small amounts, automation, and verifiability.
Of course, KITE's technology is not without its flaws. The first issue is complexity. Although the SDK simplifies development, the technical complexity of the SPACE framework itself is high, and maintenance and upgrades pose challenges. If technical debt accumulates, it could affect long-term development. The second issue is centralization risk. Although it uses blockchain, many of KITE's features (such as Agent Passport management) rely on centralized components, and if these components encounter problems, the entire system could collapse. The third issue is standardization. KITE's x402 protocol and PoAI mechanism are self-defined, and if they cannot become industry standards, they may be replaced by other solutions.
But I still have high hopes for KITE's technical path for three reasons. First, KITE addresses real problems, not pseudo-demand. My own failures prove that AI agents struggle to navigate existing systems, and KITE's solutions are essential. Second, KITE's technological moat is deepening. Innovations like the SPACE framework, x402 protocol, and PoAI mechanism cannot be easily replicated overnight. More importantly, the developer experience and enterprise cases accumulated in the Ozone test network are the hardest assets to replicate. Third, KITE has proven its technological feasibility in a bear market. With 3.66 million users and 388 million calls, these numbers not only hold steady but increase in a bear market, demonstrating that the technology can withstand real-world testing.
Finally, let's talk about the strategic significance of KITE's technology roadmap. Alpha mainnet is set to launch in Q4 2025, supporting USDC, fiat deposits and withdrawals, and cross-chain bridges; Q1 2026 will see the launch of the public mainnet, adding multiple stablecoins and programmable payments; Q2-Q3 2026 will enhance cross-chain functionality and ecosystem expansion; Q4 2026 and beyond will introduce advanced features like ZK verification and verifiable reasoning. This incremental release strategy is very smart - each phase has clear technical goals and commercial value, rather than blindly pursuing a comprehensive approach. In a bear market, this pragmatic approach is more likely to gain the trust of enterprise clients. KITE is not just a payment tool; it is building an "operating system" for AI agents. From payments to identity, from collaboration to finance, the entire technical stack has taken shape. The data from the Ozone test network proves the technological feasibility, and the addition of ecosystem partners demonstrates commercial value. Although there are still many challenges, the hard technological strength displayed by KITE in a bear market makes me believe that it could genuinely change the underlying logic of the AI agent economy. When AI agents truly become major participants in the digital economy, the infrastructure provided by KITE will become indispensable. For those who understand this long-term value, now may be the best observation window. @KITE AI $KITE
