Pay for your AI API with ADA staking rewards

If you hold ADA and pay for AI, you can let its staking rewards cover most of your API bill. Delegate to the Gatewayz stake pool from your own wallet, link the wallet to your Gatewayz account, and the rewards come back as a USD discount that pays 99% of each request's list price. Gatewayz speaks the OpenAI and Anthropic APIs, so your SDK code stays the same apart from the base URL and key.

Is it worth it for a small amount of ADA?

Honestly, it depends on your bill. The discount is proportional to your stake, so a small holding funds a small discount. At the default inputs (ADA at $0.2033 and Cardano's network rewards over mainnet epochs 645 to 662, as of 2026-10-27), 10,000 ADA comes to about $3.29 to $3.44 a month and 100,000 ADA to about $32.91 to $34.45. If you already pay a few dollars a month for inference, that can cover a real share of it. If you would rather accumulate ADA, delegate to a pool that pays rewards out; Staking rewards vs an inference discount compares the two.

How do I use the discount from my code?

Point your client at Gatewayz and use your Gatewayz API key; nothing else changes. Billing applies the discount automatically to every request made with that key while the balance lasts. The OpenAI-compatible endpoint is /v1/chat/completions and the Anthropic Messages-compatible endpoint is /v1/messages, both on https://api.gatewayz.ai.

A minimal OpenAI-compatible request:

curl https://api.gatewayz.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GATEWAYZ_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "groq/openai/gpt-oss-120b",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Explain Cardano epochs in one sentence."}]
  }'

The same call from the OpenAI Python SDK only changes the base URL and the key:

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(base_url="https://api.gatewayz.ai/v1", api_key="YOUR_GATEWAYZ_API_KEY")
reply = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="groq/openai/gpt-oss-120b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Explain Cardano epochs in one sentence."}],
)
print(reply.choices[0].message.content)

Your first Gatewayz API request walks through getting a key and making this call. If endpoints and keys are new to you, read API endpoint and API key explained.

Does it work with the Anthropic SDK and Claude Code?

Yes. Gatewayz supports the Anthropic Messages API natively at /v1/messages, billed the same way, so the Anthropic SDK and tools built on it can use the discount by pointing at Gatewayz with your Gatewayz key. Run Claude Code through Gatewayz shows the setup step by step. Coding agents send many requests, so this is where a discount balance gets used fastest.

How do I keep spending under control?

Use your normal credit balance as the ceiling. Each request pays 1% from credits while the discount lasts, and full list price from credits once it runs out; when credits cannot cover a request, the API returns a 402 insufficient_credits error instead of running it. Keeping credits modest therefore bounds what a runaway script or agent can spend. Treat the API key like a password: anyone holding it can spend your discount balance. Spend ceilings for unattended agents covers the pattern, and owner limits for agents through a /v1/yield/policy endpoint are planned, not live.

How do I get started?

Four steps, the first two done once. Delegate from a CIP-30 wallet, sign a message to link the wallet, then wait for the first epoch's rewards to be credited, roughly two to three weeks after you delegate.

Agent builders who want the agent to link its own wallet should read the agent quickstart.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to change my code to use the discount?

No, apart from pointing it at Gatewayz. Any request signed with your Gatewayz API key, through the OpenAI-compatible or Anthropic-compatible endpoint, is billed at 1% of list price while your discount balance lasts.

Which models does the discount apply to?

It applies to inference requests on Gatewayz in general, since billing takes 99% of each request's list price from the balance. What each dollar buys depends on the model's list price and your token usage.

Is it worth delegating 10,000 ADA?

It funds a small discount: about $3.29 to $3.44 a month at the default inputs as of 2026-10-27. It is worth it if you already spend that much on inference and do not need the ADA rewards themselves.

What happens when the discount runs out?

Requests continue at normal list price, paid from your credits, until the next epoch's discount is credited. If your credits cannot cover a request, the API returns a 402 insufficient_credits error.

Can I use the discount from several machines or tools?

Yes. The balance belongs to the account, so every tool, script and agent using that account's API key draws on the same balance.

Apply for the demo

We are walking a small group of builders through the live testnet demo before launch.

Sources

• Cardano Docs: Delegation, as of 2026-10-27
• Cardano.org: Stake your ada on Cardano, as of 2026-10-27
• CIP-0030: Cardano dApp-Wallet Web Bridge, as of 2026-10-27