---
name: "Routstr"
slug: routstr
layer: services
tool-type: service
maintainer: "Routstr"
repo: https://github.com/Routstr
docs: https://docs.routstr.com
site: https://routstr.com
x: @routstrai
nostr: npub130mznv74rxs032peqym6g3wqavh472623mt3z5w73xq9r6qqdufs7ql29s
---

# Routstr

> A decentralized AI-inference marketplace where a Cashu token is the API key — pay per request in private Bitcoin ecash, no login, no KYC.

## What it is

Routstr is a decentralized, permissionless AI-inference protocol and marketplace: a payment-gated reverse proxy in front of OpenAI-compatible LLM APIs where a **Cashu token acts as the API key**. Providers are discovered over Nostr, payment settles in private Bitcoin/Cashu micropayments, and there is no login, no account, and no credit card. It is the clearest deployed instance of an agent buying a service on the Bitcoin stack — and was named to HRF's Top 15 Freedom Tech Projects of 2025.

This is the thesis running in production: an autonomous agent pays for its own inference, permissionlessly, at machine tempo.

## When to use it

- Giving an agent permissionless, accountless access to frontier-model inference.
- Privacy-preserving LLM access where bearer-token payment beats a tracked API key.
- Demonstrating or building on the "agent buys a service" pattern end-to-end.

## Quick start

Point an OpenAI-compatible client at a Routstr endpoint and supply a Cashu token as the API key; top up the token to add inference balance. See `docs.routstr.com` for the overview and the protocol repos (`routstr-core`, `protocol`, `otrta-client`) under `github.com/Routstr`. Check the repos for current release state — the protocol is under active development.

## Gotchas

- The Cashu token **is** the API key (bearer model) — anyone who obtains it can spend the remaining balance. Guard it like cash.
- Inference providers are independent and pseudonymous; quality, uptime, and honesty vary by provider — there is no central SLA.
- Privacy depends on the chosen mint and provider; standard Cashu mint-trust caveats apply. See [Cashu](/tools/cashu).