Cronex is an AI-native automation platform for the Cronos blockchain, designed to power the next generation of x402 (Payment Required) protocols.
The platform enables users to build intelligent, multi-step automations around crypto payments and agentic workflows using a visual node-based system. Cronex seamlessly integrates Cronos Chain, AI Agents (Crypto.com AI SDK), and x402 Payment Gates to create autonomous, self-paying services.
With Cronex, developers and organizations can create "Pay-to-Execute" APIs, autonomous agent swarms, and auditable payment workflows without writing complex smart contract logic from scratch.
Demo:https://www.youtube.com/embed/HW3W2_UMPBY?si=CqJ1YZb8nbH18PyB
- Next.js – Full-stack React framework with App Router
- React 19 – UI library
- TypeScript – Type-safe JavaScript
- Tailwind CSS – Utility-first CSS framework
- Radix UI – Unstyled, accessible component primitives
- shadcn/ui – Re-usable components built on Radix UI
- Lucide React – Icon library
- Motion – Animation library
- Supabase – PostgreSQL database with built-in auth
- Drizzle ORM – TypeScript ORM
- Upstash Redis – Serverless Redis for caching and rate limiting
- Cronos (EVM) – Primary Layer 1 Blockhain
- Ethers.js – EVM interaction & Wallet management
- x402 Protocol – Standard for "Payment Required" HTTP 402 responses
- Crypto.com AI SDK – Agentic capabilities for Cronos
- AI SDK (Vercel) – Unified interface for AI providers
- OpenAI – GPT-4o for natural language processing
- Autonomous Agents – Self-executing agents capable of holding wallets and making payments
| Category | Node / Service Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AI Agents | Cronex AI Agent | Autonomous agent with wallet, capable of parsing intent & paying x402 gates |
| Blockchain | Cronos Payment | Send CRO/tokens or trigger smart contracts on Cronos |
| Blockchain | Transaction Check | Verify status of on-chain transactions |
| Protocol | x402 Gate | Lock content/APIs behind a crypto payment (HTTP 402) |
| Communication | WhatsApp Node | Send messages/notifications via WhatsApp |
| Communication | Gmail Node | Send and receive emails using OAuth |
| Data | HTTP Request | Make generic REST API calls |
| Logic | Transform Node | Execute Custom Javascript/Typescript |
| Logic | Webhook Trigger | Start workflows from external events |
graph TD
subgraph Client ["🖥️ Client (Next.js Frontend)"]
UI["Dashboard & Workflow Editor"]
Chat["AI Assistant Chat"]
Web3["Wallet Provider (MetaMask/Rainbow)"]
end
subgraph Backend ["⚙️ Next.js Server (Edge/Node)"]
API["API Routes (/api/*)"]
subgraph Engine ["🔥 Workflow Execution Engine"]
Resolver["Workflow Resolver"]
CredMgr["Credential Manager (AES-256)"]
NodeRunner["Node Execution Logic"]
end
subgraph Agents ["🤖 AI Agent Services"]
AgentSvc["AI Agent Service (LangChain/ReAct)"]
x402Handler["x402 Protocol Handler"]
ToolRegistry["Agent Tools (Cronos/Price/Web)"]
end
API --> Resolver
API --> AgentSvc
end
subgraph Data ["💾 Data Persistence"]
DB[("Supabase (PostgreSQL)\nUsers, Workflows, Execution Logs")]
Redis[("Upstash Redis\nRate Limiting, Webhook Queues, Caching")]
Vector[("Vector Store (Embeddings)\nDoc Search, Agent Memory")]
end
subgraph Blockchain ["⛓️ Cronos Blockchain (EVM)"]
RPC["Cronos RPC Node"]
Contract["x402 Payment Contracts"]
Explorer["Cronos Explorer"]
end
subgraph External ["🌍 External Services"]
LLM["OpenAI / Anthropic"]
Integrations["Gmail / WhatsApp / Stripe"]
Webhooks["Incoming Webhooks"]
end
%% Client Interactions
UI -->|"CRUD Workflows"| API
UI -->|"Visual Edits"| API
UI -->|"Connect Wallet"| Web3
Chat -->|"Prompt"| API
%% Engine Flow
Resolver -->|"Fetch Definition"| DB
Resolver -->|"Decrypt Keys"| CredMgr
Resolver -->|"Execute Step"| NodeRunner
NodeRunner -->|"Store State"| Redis
NodeRunner -->|"Call APIs"| Integrations
NodeRunner -->|"Trigger Agents"| AgentSvc
%% AI Agent Flow
AgentSvc -->|"Inference"| LLM
AgentSvc -->|"Use Tools"| ToolRegistry
ToolRegistry -->|"Read Data"| Vector
ToolRegistry -->|"Sign Tx"| RPC
%% Blockchain Flow
NodeRunner -->|"Monitor"| RPC
x402Handler -->|"Verify Payment"| Explorer
Web3 -->|"Sign Transaction"| Contract
%% Webhook Flow
Webhooks -->|"Trigger Event"| API
API -->|"Queue Job"| Redis
Redis -->|"Process Job"| Resolver
Cronex is built around the HTTP 402 Payment Required status code.
- Traditional Web: If you hit a paid API, you get 403 Forbidden.
- Cronex Web3: You get 402 Payment Required with a
WWW-Authenticateheader containing wallet instructions. - Agents: Cronex AI Agents recognize this 402 challenge, auto-negotiate the price, pay on-chain (Cronos), and retry the request with a Proof-of-Payment token.
Nodes in Cronex aren't just dumb scripts. The AI Agent Node embeds a Large Language Model (LLM) with a crypto wallet.
- It can read instructions ("Tip the best blog post author").
- It can browse the web or database.
- It can sign transactions on Cronos to execute the user's intent.
No coding required. Drag a Webhook Trigger -> AI Agent -> Cronos Payment -> WhatsApp Notification to build a complex financial bot in minutes.
Cronex uses a deterministic execution engine that orchestrates off-chain logic with on-chain settlement.
sequenceDiagram
participant User
participant Workflow as Workflow Engine
participant Agent as AI Agent Node
participant Blockchain as Cronos Chain
participant Service as x402 Service
User->>Workflow: Trigger (Webhook/Manual)
Workflow->>Agent: "Fetch report from premium-api.com"
Agent->>Service: GET /report
Service-->>Agent: 402 Payment Required (Price: 10 CRO)
Agent->>Agent: Analyzes 402 Challenge
Agent->>Blockchain: Sign & Broadcast Transaction (10 CRO)
Blockchain-->>Agent: Tx Confirmed (Hash: 0x123...)
Agent->>Service: GET /report + Proof(TxHash)
Service->>Blockchain: Verify Tx 0x123...
Blockchain-->>Service: Confirmed
Service-->>Agent: 200 OK (Report Data)
Agent-->>Workflow: Data Received
Workflow->>User: Result (via Email/WhatsApp)
Cronex takes security seriously, especially regarding AI agents holding funds.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Non-Custodial Option | Users can connect their own MetaMask/Defi Wallet. |
| Bounded Allowances | Agents have strict spending limits defined in the Node Config. |
| Encrypted Secrets | Private keys (if managed) are encrypted with AES-256 at rest. |
| Human-in-the-Loop | Critical payments can require manual approval via WhatsApp/Email. |
Built for the Cronos Hackathon & The Future of Agentic Payments.