Kite (KITE) is the native token of Kite Chain, an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain built for payments, identity, and settlement by autonomous AI agents. The network's mainnet went live on 29 to 30 April 2026. KITE is also deployed as a multichain token on Ethereum, Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain, Hyperliquid, and Hyperevm.
Core technology and blockchain architecture
Kite's documentation describes a base layer optimized for agent transaction patterns. Fees can be paid in stablecoins, USDC or PYUSD, which the project says removes gas-token volatility for agent operators. The chain also supports state channels for micropayments and dedicated payment lanes that isolate blockspace from congestion.
Identity is split into three levels: the user (root authority), the agent (delegated authority), and the session (ephemeral authority). Each agent receives a deterministic address derived from the user's wallet using BIP-32, and session keys expire after use. Kite Passport lets users set a per-transaction limit, a total budget, a time-to-live, and an allowed asset list, and approve each session with a passkey.
Kite Passport can pay any service that implements x402, an HTTP 402-based protocol with on-chain settlement, or MPP, the Machine Payments Protocol developed by Stripe and Tempo. Kite also states that it is compatible with Google's AP2 and Anthropic's Model Context Protocol.
Consensus and network security
Kite's current developer documentation describes the chain as a Proof-of-Stake EVM-compatible Layer 1. Validators must lock 1,000,000 KITE, and modules, validators, and delegators receive emissions through a continuous reward system. Kite's 2025 materials described Proof of Attributed Intelligence (PoAI) as its consensus mechanism. The sources do not explain how PoAI relates to the current design.
Staking runs through public mainnet contracts, including a KiteStakingManager proxy for validator registration, delegator staking, and reward claims, and a RewardVault that holds KITE reserved for staking rewards. Security on the chain therefore rests on its own validator set.
Primary use cases
- Agent payments: Agents pay per request for APIs, data, and services, using stablecoin settlement and state channels.
- Scoped spending: Users grant agents time-limited, budget-capped sessions. Paid APIs return HTTP 402, and Passport handles payment and relays the response back to the agent.
- Compute procurement: Kite has described an agent provisioning a temporary GPU virtual machine on Nimbus Cloud within a $30 budget cap.
- Agent app discovery: The Agent App Store is described as a place where agents can find and pay for APIs, data, and commerce tools.
Who is behind Kite and where is it based?
Kite's founders are publicly identified. Chi Zhang is co-founder and CEO, and Scott Shi is co-founder and CTO. Zhang previously co-founded ZettaBlock and led data engineering product development at Databricks. Shi built real-time AI infrastructure at Uber and worked on Salesforce Einstein AI. Other named team members include Yusuke Muraoka, Head of Product, and Ehsan Yousefzadeh, Head of Product, who joined in March 2026.
The founding year is not settled by the sources. Tracxn lists 2020, SetterVC lists 2022, and a Bitget Academy article gives 2023. The project's lineage is clearer. The company operated as ZettaBlock, a Web3 data platform, before the ZettaBlock team launched Kite AI in November 2024. It rebranded to Kite in September 2025.
The company is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. The legal entity is not settled. Crunchbase lists "Kite AI Ltd.", Proof of Talk reports that gokite.ai's terms name Datalego Inc. as operator, and LinkedIn describes Kite as "a brand of DataLego Inc.". The sources do not state the jurisdiction of either entity or explain how they relate. Kite Foundation describes itself as a non-profit that stewards the ecosystem, but its jurisdiction and governance structure are not stated.
The company's Series A of $18 million, announced on 2 September 2025, was led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst and brought total funding to $33 million. Coinbase Ventures invested as an extension of the Series A on 27 October 2025. Other named investors include 8VC, Samsung Next, Avalanche Foundation, LayerZero, and Animoca Brands. Sources differ on total funding, with Kite's own About page citing $35 million.
Tokenomics
Total supply is fixed at 10,000,000,000 KITE. The initial allocation is 48% to ecosystem and community, 20% to modules, 20% to team and early contributors, and 12% to investors. At the Binance listing, initial circulating supply was 1,800,000,000 KITE, or 18%. Launchpool rewards totalled 150,000,000 KITE, and a further 50,000,000 KITE is reserved for marketing, to be released in batches six months after spot listing.
Vesting terms are reported as follows. Ecosystem allocation has a three-month cliff, with 37.5% unlocking at the cliff and the rest vesting linearly. Modules face a six-month cliff followed by linear vesting. Investor vesting schedules are not specified publicly. Reports of November 2026 unlocks conflict, and the sources do not allow them to be reconciled. The sources also do not give an emission rate or a burn mechanism, so net inflation cannot be determined from them.
Partnerships and integrations
Kite's homepage lists Google Cloud (AP2) and Coinbase x402 as ecosystem partners, along with PayPal PYUSD and WLFI USD1 as stablecoin integrations. Other listed integrations include LayerZero, Crossmint, OKX Wallet, and Bitget Wallet. Kite Chain is built on Avalanche's subnet architecture, and Kite joined the Avalanche Payments Collective as a Contributing Partner in July 2026. KITE was listed on Binance with a Seed Tag after the Launchpool event, which began on 1 November 2025.
Competitive advantages
Kite positions itself as a chain built for agents rather than a general-purpose network. Its stated differentiators are stablecoin-native fees, a hierarchical identity model separating user, agent, and session authority, programmable spending limits with audit trails, and support for multiple agent payment protocols. Independent comparisons with other agent-payment chains were not found in the sources.
Development activity and roadmap
Key milestones include the mainnet launch with Kite Agent Passport on 29 to 30 April 2026, cross-chain x402 payments across Base, Tempo, and Solana in July 2026, and a changelog entry dated 9 October 2026. Formal roadmap milestones beyond these releases were not found in the sources.