The GOAT Network has officially launched a practical feature—using cryptocurrency to buy gift cards. Now your USDT and USDC can be spent directly at major retailers in North America, covering places like Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, DoorDash, Starbucks, Uber, UberEats, and Walmart. It’s not one of those convoluted exchanges; instead, agents handle the entire purchasing process—you just need to confirm the payment.
The backbone of this payment process is supported by two key components: Snaplii is responsible for the fulfillment infrastructure on the merchant side, while the agent payment part utilizes the x402 protocol, integrated into the GOAT AgentKit. The entire flow starts with agents querying the gift card catalog, confirming supported payment options, creating orders, requesting confirmations, executing payments, tracking fulfillment status, and finally returning a gift card that can be used directly. The process isn’t complicated, but it bridges the last step between crypto assets and everyday spending.
For developers, this release serves more like a ready-made reference model. With AgentKit, if you want to create a product or service that connects crypto payments to real-world merchants, you don’t have to build everything from scratch. GOAT has also allocated a $1 million grant for the AI Builder program, specifically to support such projects. This means that developing applications on the GOAT Network comes with not only reusable tech modules but also financial backing, significantly lowering the barrier to entry.
This move by GOAT Network is actually paving a very realistic path—whether crypto payments can take off hinges on whether they can be used in everyday spending. They haven’t bypassed the fiat gateway; instead, they’ve directly utilized the mature vehicle of gift cards to turn USDT/USDC into actual goods. The mainstream merchants in the U.S. and Canada are already on board, providing a solid user base and spending frequency. Agents automatically handle orders and payments, making the experience much smoother than manually trading coins at an exchange and then swiping a card.
Once the payment scenarios of GOAT Network are up and running, on-chain activity and token demand will follow suit. Currently, there are 8 leading merchants, and if they expand into more regions and categories, usage frequency will undoubtedly increase. GOAT Network’s strategy isn’t chasing the DeFi or GameFi hype; instead, they’ve chosen the most grounded approach to consumer payments, which is a smart direction.
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