Genuine question: why do you need the blockchain to do this? I use Kagi's search API with AI. No blockchain. Just great search.

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ygouzerh a day ago | parent | next [-]

If need to use an API, needs to do: user creation, top-up some money, create a token, store the token somewhere, pass it to the agent... and later renew the token...

With a blockchain, no need for all of that. And you can only pay for few cents, no need to top-up a full 5$ min for each services. If you have dozens of services that you need to reach, the benefits start to be interesting.

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cowlevel a day ago | parent | next [-]

That all happens in Lightning Network too, it's just called different things. You need to create a channel (create an account, create a token) locking up a certain amount of money (topping it up), and obviously you need to store the credentials for the channel (store the token), and renew it (renew the token) or close it (refund unused credits) every week - that means opening the app at least once a week or you lose your money - otherwise your partner gets all the locked-up money.

	▲	TimJRobinson 18 hours ago \| parent [-]
		This is why lightning hasn't and won't catch on. It's very interesting technically but terrible UX. Not to mention problems with scaling those channels and finding valid routes. USDC is much simpler.

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vincnetas a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Well, your crypto wallet is also tho materialising from thin air out of nothing... You need to set up things top up wallet, take care of keys etc...

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littlecranky67 a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You need micropayments. Banks and creditcards don't do those (and the WebPayments W3C API proposal failed due to that) because there is not much money to make in micropayments. It is not feasible to answer customer service calls for $0.0005 charges, or issue bank statements and follow regulations for transfers in the sub-cent area. That is why they charge minimum fees for each transaction, i.e. $0.30 per transaction.

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cge a day ago | parent | next [-]

If I understand the regulations in the US correctly, don't micropayments, implemented like this, just create absurd reporting requirements for the parties involved, instead of the facilitator of the transaction?

Unless I'm confused, it seems like for a US taxpayer, this mechanism would require that their federal income tax return include, either on an 8949 or an attached statement, an itemized list of every single transaction they made for every single search over an entire year.

	▲	GrantMoyer 16 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I had something like 30¢ of interest income from one bank this year. I entered it on the free fillable form for my federal taxes, but it rounded it to zero. I looked through the instructions on the forms, and they say you may round to the nearest dollar. In theory, I think you'd need to compute capital gains (sell price - purchase price) at each transfer, but I expect in practice they'd almost all round to zero since USDC is supposed to be equal to the value of the US dollar.

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JumpCrisscross a day ago | parent | prev [-]

> It is not feasible to answer customer service calls for $0.0005 charges

Does accepting payment in crypto exempt a merchant from local customer-service requirements?

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littlecranky67 a day ago | parent [-]

Yes. I run a website, I don't have customer service. I could put it behind a x402 page with my ToS, meaning you see nothing until you pay me - and once paid, it is irreversible. No need for customer service. You can sue me through legal proceedings but if I win, you pay my legal fees.

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JumpCrisscross a day ago | parent | next [-]

So I'm sympathetic to the notion that these rules are overbearing for small merchants. Particularly hobbyists. I'm totally unconvinced Brave is dodging any regulation by offering through crypto, other than by selecting for customers who may not want to interact with a legal system.

> You can sue me through legal proceedings but if I win, you pay my legal fees

That's simply not true in at least two jurisdictions I touch, which would have venue for my consumer purchases. (If you never visit the United States or EU, on the other hand, this probably wouldn't practically affect you.)

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littlecranky67 a day ago | parent [-]

Well if the legal proceedings are unjust, you pay all the fees. Else everybody could sue me all the time. I run a website, and I have a ToS you (or your agent) has to accept before payment. No need to provide customer service - and lets face it, you are not going to sue for $0.0005 anyway.

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JumpCrisscross a day ago | parent [-]

> if the legal proceedings are unjust, you pay all the fees

ToS don’t overrule law.

> lets face it, you are not going to sue for $0.0005 anyway

Very true. Though if I felt cheated by someone, regardless of the cost, I’d absolutely be open to starting a regulatory shitstorm. (Not saying you would cause that among anyone paying you.)

	▲	littlecranky67 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		We drifted from topic - my point was, I don't need to provide customer service just because I charge 5cent to read my blogpost. keen to hear on how you start a "regulatory shitstorm" unless you are some high-ranked political official.

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IanCal a day ago | parent | prev [-]

That you chose an irreversible payment method doesn’t exempt you from any regulations about customer service.

	▲	littlecranky67 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Which ones exactly? I.e. in Germany, while you need to provide a phone number, you are in no way obligated to offer any customer service. Actually most sites don't have customer service but instead redirect you to FAQ articles and AI chatbots. People can send you letters via snail mail, which might have some legal merrit. Different regulations for some services, such as banks etc. But phone or email support is in no way mandatory if you run a website and charge 5cent to read an article.

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m00dy a day ago | parent | prev [-]

The current financial system fails at delivering cross border micro payments.

	▲	a day ago \| parent [-]
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