AI credit
Buy an API key for the major AI models with shielded ZEC, then use the key in your own tools.
AI credit in ZATS Market is an API key for the major AI models, with dollars of credit on it. You pay for the key with shielded ZEC from your account's Ironwood pool, and you use it in your own tools.
What you get with AI credit
An AI credit purchase gives you an API key that holds the credit you chose.
- The key spends up to the credit you paid for, on any model it serves, at that model's price.
- The key comes with a base URL and three setup steps. The app shows them once ZATS issues the key.
- Credit left shows how much of the key's credit is still unspent.
The key works with tools and SDKs that let you set a base URL and an API key. The AI credit page in the app names the API that those tools must speak.
Before you buy AI credit
To buy AI credit, you need:
- An account in ZATS Market, unlocked in this browser. See your account.
- Enough shielded ZEC in Ironwood for the credit and the network fee. To add ZEC, make a deposit.
Ironwood is the shielded pool that your account pays from. The app sends one payment from Ironwood at a time, so an earlier payment must settle first.
AI credit comes from a stock that ZATS holds. The stock limits the largest key that you can buy. When the stock runs out, the page says Sold out for now.
Buy AI credit
An AI credit key holds a whole number of dollars, from $1 up to a limit that depends on the stock.
Choose the credit on the key
Open Explore and select AI credit, or go to app.zats.market/ai-credit. Under Credit on the key, choose a quick amount, or type whole dollars under Or type an amount.
The hint under the field shows the range that you can buy now. The Max button fills in the most whole dollars that Ironwood can pay for, with the fee.
Review and pay for the key
Check Key credit and the ZEC that you pay with the network fee. Type your password, then select Pay.
You pay the key's credit in ZEC at the current rate, plus the network fee. ZATS adds no margin.
After you pay for AI credit
After you pay, the app opens the tracker: the panel that follows the purchase to its end. The tracker shows each step and how long it usually takes.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Paid from Ironwood | Your browser sends the payment to an address that belongs to this order alone. |
| In a block | A Zcash block includes the payment. |
| Key issued | ZATS issues the key with the credit that you paid for. |
The status says Key ready when the key arrives. You can keep browsing while you wait. The tracker follows the purchase on any page while your account stays unlocked.
Use your API key
The tracker shows Your API key once ZATS issues it. It holds the key, the base URL, and Credit left, with Copy beside the key and the base URL.
Keep a copy of the key
Copy the key somewhere safe. The key is how you spend the credit, and the credit is not paid back out.
To use the API key in a tool or an SDK:
- Set the base URL of your tool or SDK to the Base URL on the tracker.
- Paste the key where the tool asks for an API key.
- Pick a model by its id. The tracker gives the address of the list of model ids.
Credit left shows what the key still holds, out of its limit. The key can spend until its credit runs out.
Find your API key later
Every AI credit key that you buy stays in the app, under your account. The app asks you to unlock the account before it shows a key.
- My items lists the keys that your account bought, except failed purchases. On a phone, the tab is Items.
- Transactions lists every purchase with its status. On a phone, the tab is Activity.
Each row opens the key's tracker, with the key, the base URL, Credit left, and the facts: credit, ZEC paid, network fee, and order. For the tracker and both lists, see paying and following a purchase.
What ZATS holds for AI credit
AI credit is the one category where ZATS sells from its own stock. You pay ZATS, and ZATS issues the key on its own account at the AI provider.
- Your payment goes to a ZATS address that belongs to your order alone.
- The key spends from ZATS's own credit until what you paid runs out.
- Credit on the key is not paid back out.
- The app keeps the key sealed under your account in ZATS Market.
If an AI credit purchase fails
The app says what happened, and whether any ZEC left your account.
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Nothing was paid. | The purchase stopped before any ZEC left Ironwood. The message says why. Fix the cause and pay again. |
| Ironwood is short for this key | Ironwood holds less than the key and its fee. Make a deposit, then come back. |
| That amount sold out | The stock changed while you paid. Choose a smaller amount. Nothing was paid. |
| AI credit is not on sale right now | ZATS does not sell AI credit at the moment. Nothing was paid. |
| An earlier payment from Ironwood is still settling | The app sends one payment from Ironwood at a time. Try again in a few minutes. |
| Payment refused | The Zcash network did not take the payment. Nothing left your account. |
| Payment short | The payment reached the order short of its amount, so ZATS issued no key. Keep the purchase, and ask ZATS to settle it. |