AI agents are already borrowing money, trading and moving into DeFi. Now the infrastructure underneath them has to operate at machine speed too.
More than 135,000 AI agents recently applied for credit through t54, with more than $500,000 extended and over 20 million agent-initiated transactions governed through the platform. MoonPay is also connecting conversational AI with onchain finance, allowing ChatGPT and Claude users to move into lending and borrowing through Kamino.
Now Puffer Finance and Google Cloud are tackling another part of that stack: speed.
Google Cloud has joined Puffer Preconf as a gateway operator, processing transactions and providing sub-second preconfirmations for Ethereum rollups. Puffer UniFi will be the first rollup to use its gateway.
This goes beyond Google Cloud simply hosting blockchain infrastructure. It is becoming an active operator inside Ethereum's rollup ecosystem.
The idea is simple: confirm the transaction in under a second, then let Ethereum handle final settlement.
Why Ethereum Needs a Faster First Answer
Puffer Preconf is designed partly for based rollups, which use Ethereum validators for sequencing rather than relying on their own centralized sequencer.
The tradeoff is speed. Ethereum operates around a 12-second block cycle, which can become noticeable for trading, payments and AI agents executing multiple actions.
Post from @puffer_financeView the original post on X↗
Puffer adds a faster commitment in front of that process. Its gateways can provide a sub-second preconfirmation that a transaction will be included while Ethereum handles settlement afterward.
Big Tech Is Moving Deeper Into Web3 Infrastructure
The shift inside Big Tech is becoming harder to miss. Apple and Google are hiring specifically around stablecoins and tokenization. Google Cloud's work with Puffer goes further: it will actually operate part of Ethereum's infrastructure.
As a Puffer Preconf gateway, Google Cloud will process transactions and issue sub-second preconfirmations. Rollups and appchains can use its gateway independently or alongside other providers, adding geographic and operational redundancy without making Google Cloud the single operator.
“Preconfirmations are how Ethereum rollups deliver speed without giving up decentralization. Google Cloud joining the Gateway Registry brings geographic and operational resilience to Puffer’s infrastructure and, by extension, the broader Ethereum ecosystem,” said Amir Forouzani, Co-Founder and CEO of Puffer Labs.
The progression is notable. Big Tech hiring stablecoin experts is one thing. Google Cloud becoming part of the machinery processing Ethereum rollup transactions is another.
What Happens If a Gateway Gets It Wrong?
Faster confirmations only matter if applications can trust them.
Puffer backs preconfirmations with restaked ETH. If a gateway fails to honor its commitment, a slashing mechanism can compensate affected parties, putting an economic consequence behind the promise.
The goal is to combine Ethereum-backed settlement and decentralized sequencing with an experience fast enough for applications that can't wait for every Ethereum block.
Post from @puffer_financeView the original post on X↗
Why This Matters for AI Agents
The agent economy is already developing several layers at once. t54 is building credit infrastructure, MoonPay and Kamino are connecting AI with DeFi lending, and Rain's prediction-market infrastructure is machine-readable so agents can interact with markets programmatically.
Puffer is working underneath those applications.
An AI agent executing payments, trades or a sequence of onchain actions may not want to wait roughly 12 seconds between dependent decisions. Software designed to operate continuously needs infrastructure that can keep up.
“AI and agents are moving towards onchain payment operations. This creates demands on infrastructure that can enable speed and scalability. We're excited to contribute to this infrastructure as a gateway operator,” said Pranav Mehrotra, APAC Technology Leader - New Frontiers at Google Cloud.
Speed isn't the only challenge. Giving autonomous software control over money also raises questions around permissions, accountability and security as AI agents gain greater control over financial transactions.
Ethereum Is Separating Speed From Settlement
Puffer Preconf separates fast execution from final settlement: applications get a sub-second response while Ethereum settles the transaction afterward.
With Google Cloud now operating a gateway, Puffer UniFi becomes an early test of whether that model can make Ethereum feel real-time for AI agents, payments and trading without changing the network underneath.
Reporting by Lidia Yadlos
