Foresight Ventures PayFi Report (Part 2): New Paradigm in the Track - AI Payment, Micropayment and Innovative Deposit and Withdrawal Solutions

Written by: Alice @Foresight Ventures

existPrevious articleIn the previous article, we analyzed the overall ecological landscape of the PayFi track. This time, let’s take a closer look at some of the new application scenarios with great potential: AI Payments, micropayments for consumers, and innovative deposit and withdrawal solutions.

(one)AI Payment

我们坚信，AI 与加密支付这一赛道潜藏着巨大的市场潜力。AI 支付有望颠覆传统金融之外的多个行业，比如数据标注、模型训练和内容创作等。随着 AI agent 逐渐融入日常生活，加密支付的应用范围也将拓展到主流行业，以后 AI 助手甚至能帮你主动订外卖、搭配购买衣服和杂货，安排打车去开会等等。

Market Opportunities

• Sources of income for AI payment platforms: Transaction fees, subscription fees, or micropayment systems for various AI services are all revenue channels for AI payment platforms.

• Stablecoin settlement advantages: Stablecoin transactions can achieve real-time settlement of cross-border remittances around the clock. Compared with the traditional banking system, it is not only faster but also has lower fees, which is very suitable for AI-driven small transaction needs.

Example: Skyfire

Skyfire Technology is committed to building a powerful and scalable payment infrastructure for AI agents and users. It mainly includes the following key parts:

Payment andwalletInfrastructure:

• Skyfire walletService: Provide channels for capital inflow and outflow for global transactions.

• Payment-as-Auth: Enables real-time settlement of USDC.

• Micropayment support: Enables AI agents to conduct permissionless, high-frequency, low-value transactions.

Open Protocol (AI Market): Integrate all AI-related products and services. AI agents can connect to the resources they need to work through the Skyfire open protocol (market) and pay for these services with the Skyfire API. For example, decentralized computing power market, decentralized data annotation market, automated data sets, AI model API, etc.

Identity and verification layer: Give each AI agent an identity (KYA), and provide identity for all agents, users, and enterprises using Skyfire products. KYA can track transaction history, ensure compliance and accountability, and verify the identity of each transaction to ensureSafetyNo worries.

Integration Tools: Support for over 160 Large Language Models (LLMs), API access to datasets, premium content, and web services, and tools for developers to integrate Skyfire into their systems.

Key success factors

AI Payment Layer Network EffectsSkyfire is a platform that integrates AI market and payment layer. On the one hand, by integrating various AI markets and service providers, it attracts more users and AI agents to use its products; on the other hand, it also creates income for more Web2 and Web3 AI service providers (with the help of stablecoin transactions, the efficiency and frequency of transfers can be significantly improved), thus forming a bilateral flywheel effect.

Compliance andSafety: Verifiable identity (KYA) and transaction history ensure the authenticity of transactionsSafetyIt effectively prevents fraud and the payment authorization system further enhances transaction trust.

PowerfulCommunity：Cooperation with LLM providers, data markets, and enterprise-level AI companies has consolidated its ecosystem. Currently, more than 1,500 developers are using Skyfire's tools and services.

2. Small-value payments for consumers

Crypto-based consumer micropayments, combined with technologies like Moonshot (usingcryptocurrencyInnovative models such as Meme Coin (buying and selling Meme coins) and Sidekick (providing a Web3 payment gateway for live streamers) demonstrate the huge potential of global instant settlement and decentralized protocols. By cutting out intermediaries and costs, this model has the potential to disruptcryptocurrency交易、内容创作、游戏和直播等行业，尤其在新兴市场中更具优势。低抽成率、跨境支付的便利以及 mobile 高渗透率，使得cryptocurrency成为理想的解决方案。

Market Opportunities

• Target market: covering ride-hailing, gaming, digital media, live streaming, content creators and onlineCommunityAnd other daily transaction scenarios of consumers.

• Sources of income: transaction fees, revenue from cooperation with content platforms, and revenue from the integration of decentralized finance (DeFi).

Example: Moonshot

Moonshot is a trading platform that supports users to buy and sell Memes using Apple Pay and other methods. Token, its main features are as follows:

• 自托管wallet：用户可通过电子邮件和密码（配合 Touch ID、Face ID 或密码）创建账户。Moonshot 借助其多方计算（MPC）合作伙伴 Turnkey.com，为支持的BlockchainGenerate an embedded wallet.

• Fee structure: Moonshot charges fees for transactions to cover management costs and ensure a smooth experience. Fees are divided according to the transaction amount, and network fees are paid by the platform to prioritize orders. For example, a transaction of $1 to $250 is charged 2.5%, with a minimum of about $0.40; transactions over $250 are charged 1%.

• Referral Program: Users can get rewards by recommending friends to use the platform. When the referrer and the referee complete identity verification, both parties can get rewards. Currently, this program is only available to iOS users in some regions.

Key Success Factors

User-friendly interactive design：The Moonshot interface is simple and intuitive, simplifying the buying and selling process of Meme cryptocurrency. By supporting legal payment methods such as Apple Pay, credit cards and PayPal, it lowers the entry barrier for new users.

TokenOnline speed：The ability of the platform to quickly launch popular Meme tokens is crucial. For example, the launch of MOODENG has greatly increased user engagement and transaction volume, demonstrating Moonshot’s ability to grasp market trends.

Efficient recommendation mechanism：Moonshot 的推荐系统通过奖励推荐人和新用户，推动了用户增长，增强了社区互动，加速平台的普及。

Compliance andSafetyAssure：平台严格遵守当地法规，并采取了与 MoonPay 合作进行身份验证和交易处理等有力的安全措施。这种合规和安全建设增强了用户的信任，为可持续发展奠定了基础。

Case: Sidekick

Sidekick is a Web3 game companion platform and payment gateway, where streamers can receive micropayments and rewards via Crypto.

Key Success Factors

Solving the creator payment problem：Traditional streaming platforms (such as YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok) take a cut of up to 30%, have a long payment cycle (usually taking weeks), and are geographically restricted. Sidekick provides instant, low-costBlockchainPayment effectively solves these problems. It solves a huge pain point for global content creators, especially those in areas where traditional payment systems are insufficient.

Low-cost transactions drive income equality：Sidekick allows mid-level influencers to earn higher incomes in transactions. By eliminating the Web2 platform’s cut, Sidekick ensures a more equitable and reasonable distribution of income. This is very attractive to gig economy workers who are looking for better income sharing and faster payments.

Scalability through Web3 infrastructure: Sidekick uses the Web3 protocol to ensure that its payment gateway is decentralized, scalable, secure and reliable.BlockchainThe transparency and security of Sidekick provide a foundation of trust for creators and users, while also enabling Sidekick to meet the needs of transactions ranging from small amounts to millions of transactions per day.

The future of the creator economy：As the creator economy grows, platforms like Sidekick are leading the way in decentralized, crypto-native monetization. As NFTs, digital assets, and Web3 applications become more popular, Sidekick can serve as a comprehensive payment solution. Streamers and creators can not only earn income through regular live streaming, but also monetize their influence through tokenized content and fans tokens.

(III) Innovative deposit and withdrawal solutions

Efficient deposit and withdrawal solutions play a key role in the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. These solutions build a bridge for users and institutions that rely on fiat currencies to enter crypto assets or participate in decentralized finance (DeFi).

Market Opportunities

• Rising demand for stablecoins: The increasing use of stablecoins (such as USDC, USDT, DAI) in remittances, DeFi, and cross-border trade has given rise to demand for conversion between fiat currencies and stablecoins. After the US election, the laws and regulations related to stablecoins are expected to be more complete, and there will be greater room for development after compliance.

• Layer-2 and multi-chain expansion: The deposit and withdrawal platform can be combined with Layer-2 networks (such as Optimism, Arbitrum) and cross-chain support (such as Solana, Avalanche) to reduce costs, increase transaction speed, and enable users to access a diverse crypto ecosystem.

• Improved accessibility: Embedded payment solutions and wallet-free access (via email or mobile) simplify onboarding to cryptocurrencies, attracting new users and driving wider adoption.

• Emerging market potential: Deposit and withdrawal platforms often use mobile products to penetrate emerging markets with weak financial infrastructure, while providing enterprise-level tools and collaborating with partners such as Visa and Stripe to enter institutional and traditional payment networks.

Case: Fiat24

Fiat24 is a Web3 neo-bank that provides users with a seamless, zero-cost conversion experience between fiat and cryptocurrency. Its main product features include:

• Tokenized deposits: Fiat24 converts fiat currencies (such as CHF, EUR, USD, GBP) into EthereumBlockchainEach token is 1:1 with the fiat currency in custody, ensuring stability and credibility. The system supports instant and transparent transactions and can be seamlessly connected with DeFi services.

• NFT-based account access: Users are given a unique non-fungible token (NFT) as their digital identity to access their Fiat24 account. This replaces traditional usernames and passwords, increasing security and user control. NFTs are stored in the user's Arbitrum (Ethereum) wallet and used to access Fiat24 services.

• Visa Debit Card Integration: Fiat24 provides Visa debit cards that are linked to user accounts and support global spending at over 40 million merchants. Users can top up their cards through Fiat24’s decentralized application (dApp) and display their balance in a specified currency.

• Compliance assurance: Fiat24 is operated by SR Saphirstein AG and is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The platform complies with anti-money laundering (AML) requirements and undergoes regular financial and regulatory audits by Swiss Grant Thornton to ensure user compliance and fund security.

Fiat24's key success factors

Strong network effects: The key to Fiat24's success is to establish its tokenized deposits asXiaobai NavigationUniversal standards. This foundational role promotes interoperability and builds a self-reinforcing ecosystem for connecting traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Regulatory advantages and cost leadership: With a Swiss banking license, Fiat24 has the backing of the traditional financial system and access to the SWIFT/SEPA network. This regulatory status enables it to offer highly competitive prices to its partners and users, becoming a trustworthy and efficient web3 Banking Solutions.

Fiat-Crypto Fusion: Through tokenized bank deposits (such as USD24), instant fiat-crypto conversions, and synchronized on-chain/off-chain ledgers, Fiat24 seamlessly bridges traditional finance and decentralized finance, creating a smooth and user-friendly ecosystem.

Scalable partnerships: Fiat24 provides an all-in-one Web3 banking solution that is easy to integrate with major wallets andexchangeIntegration, expand the scope of application through a profit-sharing model, promote network growth, and enhance the practicality of the platform.

Summarize

We thinkBlockchainThere is huge potential in redefining the global payment system. From AI-driven micro-transactions to consumer micro-payments to fiat-to-cryptocurrency conversion solutions, PayFi's innovations solve the long-standing inefficiencies in traditional finance and open up broad market opportunities. The integration of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and decentralized finance paves the way for scalable, secure and cost-effective solutions.

PayFi is like a bridge, leading us to a more inclusive, transparent and efficient financial future. Although there are still challenges in regulation and infrastructure, the prospects are bright and the future is promising.

The article comes from the Internet:Foresight Ventures PayFi Report (Part 2): New Paradigm in the Track - AI Payment, Micropayment and Innovative Deposit and Withdrawal Solutions

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