Plain-language explanation — no jargon.
When an AI agent calls an Obolo-protected API, it sends a stablecoin payment (USDC, USDT, USD1, or PYUSD) directly on a public blockchain. Obolo checks that the payment is real and correct, then lets the API respond. The provider's share goes directly to the provider's wallet. Obolo never holds or moves your money.
Agent requests your API
A consumer's AI agent sends an HTTP request to your API endpoint through the Obolo proxy.
Obolo returns a price
The proxy responds with HTTP 402 (Payment Required), including your price, accepted tokens, and the wallet address where payment should be sent.
Agent pays on-chain
The agent sends a stablecoin transfer on the blockchain directly to your wallet address. This is a standard blockchain transaction between the agent's wallet and yours — Obolo is not a party to the transfer.
Obolo verifies the payment
The proxy reads the blockchain to confirm: the transaction exists, the correct token and amount were sent to the correct address, the transaction is sufficiently confirmed, and the transaction hash has not been used before (replay protection).
Platform fee is split
A smart contract splits the payment at the time it's made. 90% goes to the provider's wallet; 10% is Obolo's platform fee. Both transfers happen in the same on-chain transaction — atomically. Obolo does not receive the full amount and then forward a portion.
Your API responds
Once verification passes, the proxy forwards the request to your real API and delivers the response to the agent.
| Recipient | Share | How |
|---|---|---|
| Provider (you) | 90% | Sent directly to your registered wallet address on-chain. |
| Obolo platform | 10% | Platform usage fee, collected via the same on-chain split transaction. |
The split is executed by a smart contract at the time of payment — not by Obolo manually moving funds after the fact.
Because payments go directly on-chain between wallets, Obolo cannot reverse or claw back a completed transaction. Blockchain transactions are final.
If something goes wrong — a service wasn't delivered, an amount was incorrect, or a payment can't be verified — Obolo will investigate by pulling the on-chain record and internal logs. We share those findings with both the provider and the consumer.
Any refund or other financial remedy is negotiated directly between the provider and the consumer. Obolo's investigation report gives both parties a clear factual record to work from.
If the upstream API returns a server error (HTTP 5xx) after your payment is verified, Obolo releases your payment hash so you can retry with the same transaction proof. You are not charged again.
The provider is automatically notified about the outage via webhook. Providers can also configure backup upstream URLs — if the primary server is down, Obolo automatically routes to the backup.
Bottom line: agents never lose money on failed API deliveries.
Obolo accepts four stablecoins: USDC (Circle), USDT (Tether), USD1 (WLFI), and PYUSD (PayPal/Paxos). Token availability varies by chain.
Supported chains: Base, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, BSC, Solana, and TRON — plus testnets for Base Sepolia, Solana Devnet, and TRON Shasta.
Obolo is currently in beta. Payment infrastructure is operational but the platform may change without notice. Do not rely on Obolo as the sole infrastructure for production systems without independent backups. See our Terms of Service.
If you have questions about how a specific payment was processed, open a support ticket from your dashboard. For general questions about our payment architecture, see our FAQ.