Kite is a new blockchain built for a future where AI doesn’t just think, but also acts, pays, and coordinates by itself. Instead of humans clicking buttons or approving every transaction, Kite is designed so autonomous AI agents can send money to each other, follow rules, prove who they are, and operate safely at massive scale. The big idea is simple: if machines are going to run parts of the economy, they need their own financial rails.
At its core, Kite is an EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain, meaning it works with Ethereum-style smart contracts but is optimized for speed, low fees, and constant activity. What makes it different is its focus on “agentic payments.” These are payments made directly by AI agents, not humans, with built-in identity, permissions, and policy controls. The goal is to support machine-to-machine value transfer that is fast, cheap, and trustworthy, forming the base layer of what the team calls the agentic economy.
Investors seem to believe in this vision. In September 2025, Kite raised $18 million in a Series A round led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst, bringing its total funding to about $33 million. Coinbase Ventures later added another reported $15 million to support Kite’s work on the x402 payment standard, a protocol that lets AI agents pay and settle transactions natively. This mix of traditional finance and crypto-native backers shows growing interest in connecting AI, payments, and blockchain infrastructure.
The KITE token went live publicly on November 3, 2025, and quickly appeared on major exchanges like Binance and KuCoin. Binance even featured it on Launchpool, allowing users to stake assets like BNB and stablecoins to earn KITE. Trading activity was intense at launch, with hundreds of millions of dollars in volume and a fully diluted valuation approaching the billion-dollar mark. The token has a total supply of 10 billion, with nearly half set aside for the community, while the rest is split between the team, early contributors, and investors. Early on, the token is mainly used for ecosystem access and incentives, but over time it is meant to power staking, governance, fees, and commissions for AI services.
On the technology side, Kite is built to handle real-time interactions between AI agents. It uses cryptographic identity systems so agents can prove who they are and what they’re allowed to do. Its signature x402 payment protocol allows agents to send, retry, and settle payments directly onchain without relying on outside systems. This is especially important for high-frequency, low-value transactions, where speed and automation matter more than human oversight.
Toward the end of 2025, Kite expanded its reach with cross-chain connections, including bridges to networks like Avalanche using LayerZero. It also introduced gasless micropayments through stablecoin systems such as pieUSD, making it easier for agents to transact constantly without worrying about fees. These upgrades are meant to remove friction and open the door to large-scale AI activity.
Developer interest has been strong so far. Kite’s testnets, including Ozone and Aero, reportedly processed millions of wallet interactions and contract deployments. The ecosystem is growing around tools like Agent Passports for identity, SDKs for developers, an Agent App Store, and compliance features designed to make autonomous systems safer and easier to deploy. Integrations and experiments have included commerce flows tied to platforms like Shopify and PayPal, as well as early onchain AI agents testing real economic behavior.
Looking ahead, Kite’s near-term focus is on fully rolling out its mainnet and making its identity and autonomous payment systems production-ready. Cross-chain support, gasless stablecoin lanes, and better developer tools are expected through late 2025 and early 2026. Further down the road, staking and governance will be introduced, allowing the community to help shape the network. The long-term ambition is bold: a self-sustaining economy where AI agents create value, exchange services, and coordinate with minimal human input.
Kite is already live, well-funded, and actively building. It has momentum, strong institutional backing, and a clear niche. At the same time, it faces real challenges, especially competition from other infrastructure chains and the need to attract enough developers to make the agentic economy real. If it succeeds, Kite could become one of the first blockchains where machines truly run the show.
