Circle Takes USDC Nanopayments Live on Mainnet, Building the Payment Rail AI Agents Will Actually Use

Circle Takes USDC Nanopayments Live on Mainnet, Building the Payment Rail AI Agents Will Actually Use


Abstract USDC nanopayments image for AI agent payments image By Isaac • May 2, 2026 3:41 pm •

Circle launched Nanopayments powered by Circle Gateway on mainnet April 29, giving developers and AI agents a gas-free USDC payment rail that handles transfers as small as one millionth of a dollar.

The product supports 11 blockchains at launch. Payments range from $0.000001 up to $1 million through a unified Gateway balance. Settlement happens in periodic onchain batches, while individual payments are verified instantly using signed EIP-3009 authorizations.

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The target market is clear: APIs, datasets, compute credits, and any usage-based digital service where traditional payment minimums make sub-cent billing impossible.

Nanopayments powered by Circle Gateway is now live.

This gives builders a new financial rail for agentic economy:
→ Gas-free USDC transfers down to $0.000001
→ Instant

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