The Graph Launches xDai Payment Capability, Enabling On-Demand Querying of On-Chain Data with USDC

BlockBeats News, May 12th, The Graph officially announced that its Graph Gateway now supports x402 Payments. Developers and AI Agents can now access on-chain data via USDC micropayments, without the need for an API Key, account, or backend dashboard.

The Graph stated that its network is responsible for indexing data from various blockchains, including token information, DEX trading pairs, governance updates, NFT metadata, and protocol activities. Previously, accessing related Subgraph data required registration on Subgraph Studio and applying for an API Key, but x402 has changed this access model.

According to the introduction, after an Agent or program accesses the interface, they will receive an HTTP 402 response containing price information, and they can then use USDC on the Base network to complete a signed payment. Subsequent requests will fetch the data, where "the payment itself is the authentication." This update includes:

· Addition of the `/api/x402/` interface;

· New payment flow SDK;

· Support for any tool compatible with x402;

· Support for USDC payments on the Base Mainnet and Base Sepolia Testnet;

· The existing API Key mode remains unchanged.

The Graph mentioned that Subgraph data can now be accessed directly by any program or Agent that supports HTTP and holds USDC.