Spiral Has Integrated Bitcoin Payments Into Mesh LLM
The Block-funded developer group is enabling AI agents to pay for computing power using the Lightning Network.
Updated on Oct. 7, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Spiral is building Bitcoin-based payment features into the Mesh LLM decentralized network, allowing for direct transactions between GPU contributors and AI agents. This system aims to facilitate machine-to-machine compute purchasing without the need for traditional financial intermediaries.
Why it matters
By utilizing the Lightning Network for AI micropayments, this initiative seeks to establish an autonomous marketplace where machines can trade compute power. This development could fundamentally alter how AI models access distributed resources by enabling frictionless, trustless financial settlement.
The Mesh LLM decentralized network is designed to run open-source AI models as large as 256GB by pooling idle GPU power from global users. This infrastructure is currently being paired with the x402 payment standard to handle automated transactions.
The players
Spiral
Spiral is a developer group funded by Block that focuses on advancing Bitcoin infrastructure and open-source technology.
Block
Block is a global financial technology company that provides diverse digital payment and banking solutions.
Mesh LLM
Mesh LLM is a decentralized network that enables the collaborative execution of AI models by pooling GPU resources.
The details
The payment feature utilizes the Lightning Network, which was integrated into the x402 standard in September 2026. Developers are currently focused on enabling AI agents to possess digital wallets to autonomously buy and sell AI compute directly on the network.
Timeline
2019: Block initiated the Spiral developer group.
September 2026: Lightning was integrated into the x402 payment standard.
October 3, 2026: Team discussed Mesh LLM progress and compute verification challenges.
Early October 2026: Payment feature remains under active development.
Roadmap
This integration follows the pattern set by the Lightning Network by expanding its use from simple monetary transfers to machine-to-machine micropayments for AI compute. It represents a shift toward autonomous infrastructure where AI agents act as independent economic actors.
Users who contribute idle GPU power to the Mesh LLM network will soon be able to receive direct Bitcoin payments for their compute contributions. This creates a new way for hardware owners to monetize their resources while providing developers with a decentralized path to scale AI.
The takeaway
The project demonstrates a growing trend of embedding financial layers directly into decentralized computing networks to automate AI resource allocation. Users should monitor how machine-to-machine payment standards evolve as they prepare to interact with autonomous AI systems.
Further reading
For more on the infrastructure powering next-generation models, visit our Artificial Intelligence section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Crypto Briefing.
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