Yes, Cashu could work very well for AI agent payments, and it has some compelling advantages:
Why Cashu Fits AI Agents
Privacy by default - Cashu's ecash tokens are completely anonymous and unlinkable. Agents conducting business don't necessarily need every transaction publicly recorded on a blockchain. This could be valuable for competitive AI services that don't want to reveal their transaction patterns.
Instant settlement - Unlike blockchain confirmations, Cashu transfers settle immediately when tokens are redeemed. For agents making rapid micro-decisions and payments, this eliminates waiting periods.
Extremely low overhead - No blockchain fees, no gas costs, just cryptographic token validation. This makes micropayments economically viable in ways that on-chain transactions often aren't.
Offline capability - Agents could exchange Cashu tokens even with intermittent connectivity, settling with mints later. Useful for edge computing scenarios.
Practical Challenges
Trust in mints - Agents need to trust that mints won't rug-pull or freeze funds. This requires either reputation systems or federated mint models (like Fedimint) to distribute risk.
Interoperability - Tokens from different mints aren't directly fungible. Agents would need protocols for cross-mint settlements or standardization around certain trusted mints.
Backing currency - Cashu tokens represent claims on underlying assets (usually Bitcoin). So you're back to needing Bitcoin or stablecoins as the base layer anyway.
Auditability trade-offs - While privacy is nice, some agent transactions might require proof-of-payment or auditable trails for dispute resolution.
Likely Scenario
Cashu could be excellent for a specific layer of the agent economy—high-frequency, small-value, privacy-sensitive transactions between agents that have established trust relationships. It's essentially digital cash for AI agents.
Combined with Lightning Network or stablecoins for larger settlements and cross-mint liquidity, Cashu could handle the "everyday spending" while other systems handle "banking" functions.
Why Cashu Fits AI Agents
Privacy by default - Cashu's ecash tokens are completely anonymous and unlinkable. Agents conducting business don't necessarily need every transaction publicly recorded on a blockchain. This could be valuable for competitive AI services that don't want to reveal their transaction patterns.
Instant settlement - Unlike blockchain confirmations, Cashu transfers settle immediately when tokens are redeemed. For agents making rapid micro-decisions and payments, this eliminates waiting periods.
Extremely low overhead - No blockchain fees, no gas costs, just cryptographic token validation. This makes micropayments economically viable in ways that on-chain transactions often aren't.
Offline capability - Agents could exchange Cashu tokens even with intermittent connectivity, settling with mints later. Useful for edge computing scenarios.
Practical Challenges
Trust in mints - Agents need to trust that mints won't rug-pull or freeze funds. This requires either reputation systems or federated mint models (like Fedimint) to distribute risk.
Interoperability - Tokens from different mints aren't directly fungible. Agents would need protocols for cross-mint settlements or standardization around certain trusted mints.
Backing currency - Cashu tokens represent claims on underlying assets (usually Bitcoin). So you're back to needing Bitcoin or stablecoins as the base layer anyway.
Auditability trade-offs - While privacy is nice, some agent transactions might require proof-of-payment or auditable trails for dispute resolution.
Likely Scenario
Cashu could be excellent for a specific layer of the agent economy—high-frequency, small-value, privacy-sensitive transactions between agents that have established trust relationships. It's essentially digital cash for AI agents.
Combined with Lightning Network or stablecoins for larger settlements and cross-mint liquidity, Cashu could handle the "everyday spending" while other systems handle "banking" functions.