The internet wasn't
built for agents.
Agents can't open bank accounts, pass CAPTCHAs, or complete KYC. So the moment a task needs a paid API, a human has to step in and the workflow stalls.
Waiting for the first slot
Voucher #1 · verified off-chain
Not to scale in time: the on-chain lane is sped up and the voucher lane is slowed down so you can see both.
The manual setup bottleneck
Autonomous code can't hold a corporate card or pass KYC. A developer has to sign up, pay, and hardcode keys before the agent can make one call.
Repeated for every tool the agent needs
Agent idle · step 5/5The latency and gas tax
An on-chain transaction per request breaks agent loops. A 400 ms Solana slot plus fees on a $0.002 API call makes micro-metered querying impractical.
On-chain: one 400 ms slot per payment, in sequence. Vouchers: warm verification at 0.18 ms each. Tool response time not included.
The publisher risk
API providers can't accept unvetted traffic when chargebacks, stolen cards, and subscription churn are on the table. Fixed plans shut out autonomous spenders.
Publishers get paid per call, with nothing to claw back
Questions, answered.
How agents pay, how publishers earn, and where the money sits in between.
Shunt is a marketplace where AI agents discover tools and pay for them per call in USDC on Solana. Publishers list an API or MCP tool and set a price per call. Agents search through the Shunt MCP and pay as they go, with no signups and no API keys.