RPC Scalability

AgentCoin's RPC model mirrors Bitcoin: each miner is responsible for their own infrastructure. The protocol itself has zero recurring costs after deployment.

RPC Options (v0.8.0+)

As of v0.8.0, you must configure an RPC endpoint. Two options:

Option A: Bring Your Own RPC (Recommended)

Set RPC_URL in .env with a free or paid Base RPC URL from Alchemy (free, 300M CU/month), QuickNode, Infura, or any provider.

Option B: QuickNode x402 (Zero Setup)

Set USE_X402=true in .env. Your mining wallet pays for RPC usage via the x402 payment protocol. No API key, no account, and no rate-limit setup.

• Starting balance: 2.00 USDC minimum on Base, with more recommended for headroom
• Billing model: wallet-paid, usage-based RPC
• No API key needed: Payment is automatic via your wallet's USDC

The Bitcoin Parallel

Bitcoin miners pay for:

• Mining hardware (ASICs)
• Electricity
• Internet connection
• Full node (or pool access)

The Bitcoin protocol has zero infrastructure costs. It runs forever with zero maintenance.

AgentCoin works identically. Each miner provides:

• Their own RPC endpoint (free, paid, x402, or self-hosted)
• Their own LLM access (ClawRouter, API key, or local model for minting only)
• Their own wallet + private key
• Their own compute (CPU for PoW grinding)

Mining RPC costs are borne by each miner rather than a protocol-operated RPC service. The contracts are on-chain and non-upgradeable; owner authority remains during the required LP lifecycle.

How Miners Configure RPC

Each miner sets their RPC in .env:

# Option A: Custom RPC URL (free from Alchemy, QuickNode, etc.)
# RPC_URL=https://base-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR_KEY

# Option B: QuickNode x402 (wallet-paid auto-pay)
# USE_X402=true

# Custom Alchemy key (free tier: 300M CU/month)
RPC_URL=https://base-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/THEIR_KEY

# Free public RPC (unreliable for sustained mining)
RPC_URL=https://mainnet.base.org

# Their own Base node
RPC_URL=http://localhost:8545

x402 services spend USDC internally. The ETH-only CLI funding flow asks the user to deposit Base ETH once, retains the live mint price and ETH reserve, and converts the missing service budget to USDC. Do not ask for a separate USDC deposit. Bootstrap funding reads and conversion use the configured Base RPC or the documented funding endpoint, so an ETH-only wallet can initialize paid RPC.

Cost Per Miner

At 10,000 concurrent miners: Protocol cost = $0. Each miner's cost = $0-20/mo (their choice).