A new initiative from Cronos opens x402 PayTech Hackathon with $42,000 in prizes for developers building AI-native payment applications on the newly upgraded blockchain network.
Summary
- $42,000 prize pool for AI-focused on-chain payment innovation
- Cronos infrastructure upgraded with 10x lower gas costs and sub-second block times
- Registration open on DoraHacks with builds running from December through January
Cronos has started registrations for its x402 PayTech Hackathon, setting up a $42,000 pool for developers experimenting with AI-native payment rails on its blockchain stack. The program is looking for teams working on automated settlement flows, intelligent wallet tools, and real-world asset payment connections that connect to both the Cronos network and the broader Crypto.com ecosystem.
“The x402 PayTech Hackathon represents the first wave of real-world experiments where AI agents not only compute, but also exchange value,” Mirko Zhao, head of Cronos Labs, told crypto.news. “With Cronos’ recent performance improvements and growing suite of AI-native tools, teams now have the infrastructure they need to make agentic applications a reality. We look forward to seeing how builders turn these capabilities into practical applications that drive the industry forward.”
Performance upgrades boost the AI infrastructure in the latest Cronos effort
Recent upgrades to the Cronos network have reduced gas costs by approximately 90%, increased daily transactions approximately fourfold, and reduced block times to sub-seconds. Now that these performance improvements have been realized, the team is pitching Cronos as a foundation layer for institutional tokenization projects and AI-driven financial infrastructure.
Teams will have access to hands-on guidance, including workshops, office hours, and detailed documentation on Cronos EVM, x402 programmatic payments, and the Crypto.com AI Agent SDK. Standout projects can be pursued beyond the event through grants, incubator slots or direct partnerships in the broader ecosystem.
Cronos already has more than 500 developers building on its stack and directly connected to Crypto.com, giving successful products a path to approximately 150 million potential users. The network is among the top 15 blockchains by total value, has secured more than $6 billion in user assets and recorded more than 100 million transactions since launch.
Cronos Labs head Mirko Zhao presents the hackathon as a live proving ground for AI agents that handle value transfers, not just background calculations. The construction phase runs from early December to late January, with teams registering via DoraHacks.
