Cronos launches x402 hackathon for AI payment systems

A new initiative by Cronos opens x402 PayTech Hackathon to $42,000 in prizes for developers building AI-native payment applications on its recently upgraded blockchain network.

Summary

• $42,000 prize pool for AI-directed on-chain payment innovation
• Cronos infrastructure upgraded with 10X lower gas fees and sub-second block times
• Registration open on DoraHacks with builds running December through January

Cronos has kicked off registrations for its x402 PayTech Hackathon, putting 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 tooling, and real‑world asset payment links that plug into both the Cronos network and Crypto.com’s broader ecosystem.

​“The x402 PayTech Hackathon represents the first wave of real-world experimentation where AI agents don’t just compute, but exchange value, said Mirko Zhao, Head of Cronos Labs told crypto.news. “With Cronos’ recent performance gains and its growing suite of AI-native tooling, teams now have the infrastructure they need to turn agentic applications into reality. We look forward to seeing builders transform these capabilities into practical applications that advance the industry.”

Performance upgrades drive AI infrastructure push in newest Cronos endeavour

Recent upgrades to the Cronos network slashed gas costs by around 90%, pushed daily transactions up roughly fourfold, and brought block times below one second. With those performance gains in place, the team is pitching Cronos as a base layer for institutional tokenization projects and AI-driven financial infrastructure.​

Teams will have access to practical guidance, including workshops, office hours, and detailed documentation on Cronos EVM, x402 programmatic payments, and the Crypto.com AI Agent SDK. Standout projects can continue past the event through grants, incubator slots, or direct partnerships in the wider ecosystem.

Cronos already counts more than 500 developers building on its stack and ties directly into Crypto.com, giving successful products a path to roughly 150 million potential users. The network ranks among the top 15 blockchains by total value, securing over $6 billion in user assets and logging 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 computation. The build phase runs from early December through late January, with teams signing up via DoraHacks.