EigenCloud’s native token EIGEN rallied sharply on Thursday, following news of its partnership with Google Cloud to expand blockchain-powered verifiability for AI-driven payments. EIGEN is currently changing hands at $1.94, up 25% on the day and over 35% over the past week, per CoinGecko. EIGEN Chart The partnership will help AI agents (programs that can act and pay on their own) safely make payments and coordinate across blockchains using the A2A (agent-to-agent) protocol. The move also comes as AI agents are being used more and more, with the market expected to grow about 45% each year over the next five years, according to a report by consulting firm BCG. The A2A protocol will serve as the foundation for “a new class of multi-agent applications and workflows, from automated financial services to prediction markets,” according to a press release viewed by The Defiant. Earlier this week, Google unveiled its Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), which helps AI agents send and receive payments across different blockchains. It uses the x402 standard to make payments work smoothly, no matter which blockchain the money is on. “We're excited to be a launch partner for [Google Cloud's] new Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), a standard that gives AI agents the ability to transact with trust and accountability,” EigenCloud wrote on its official X page. “At EigenCloud, our focus is on verifiability.” EigenCloud said the deal adds a “trust layer” that lets AI agents prove their work, verify payments, and follow human-set rules. EigenCloud’s system also handles tasks like moving money between blockchains and confirming that work is completed correctly, according to the release. EigenCloud (previously EigenLayer) is the largest Ethereum restaking protocol and currently boasts a total-value locked (TVL) of over $20 billion, according to DeFiLlama. Google’s Moves EigenCloud isn’t the only project that Google is partnering with for this initiative. The tech giant is collaborating with more than 60 companies – including Coinbase, the Ethereum Foundation, MetaMask, and Adobe – to help deploy AP2 and further its adoption. “Blockchains are the natural payment layer for agents, and Ethereum will be the backbone of this,” said Marco De Rossi, AI Lead at MetaMask, per a Google Cloud blog post. “With Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) and x402, MetaMask will deliver maximum interoperability for developers and will enable users to pay agents with full composability and choice—while retaining the security and control of true self-custody.” The Defiant has reached out to MetaMask and the Ethereum Foundation for comment on their roles in AP2’s expansion, but has not yet received a response.