$ZAUTH Contract

The $ZAUTH token serves as the economic backbone of the platform. Creator fees collected from token activity are directed to the $ZAUTH contract, which holds the funds that power all agent operations. This model means that as the token ecosystem grows, so does zauth's capacity to verify endpoints and serve the x402 ecosystem. No separate subscription or payment is required from operators.

The x402 protocol requires payments in USDC on the Base network. The $ZAUTH contract automatically converts incoming fees to USDC, maintaining a liquid reserve that agents can draw from when testing and verifying x402 endpoints. This conversion happens transparently in the background, so the verification process runs continuously without manual intervention.

The platform also maintains ETH reserves on Base for gas fees. Every x402 payment requires a blockchain transaction, and gas costs are covered by the $ZAUTH contract. This enables zauth to continuously monitor endpoint health and maintain an up-to-date verification database for the x402 ecosystem.

Because the $ZAUTH contract funds verification operations, we enforce strict rate limits and spending caps to prevent abuse. Each verification agent has a maximum number of requests per hour, and each individual x402 payment is capped at a few cents. These guardrails ensure that the $ZAUTH contract remains healthy and that verification continues to serve the broader x402 ecosystem.

The limits are designed to enable comprehensive endpoint testing while preventing resource drain. All spending is logged and auditable, so operators can review exactly how $ZAUTH funds are being used to verify endpoints across the ecosystem.