Cronos has announced the x402 PayTech Hackathon, offering a $42,000 prize pool to encourage the development of AI-native payment applications on its enhanced blockchain network. The hackathon, open for registration through DoraHacks, will take place from December to January. It aims to foster innovations in automated settlement, smart wallet tools, and real-world asset payment integrations. This initiative follows Cronos' recent network upgrades, which have significantly improved performance by reducing gas fees by 90%, increasing daily transaction volume nearly fourfold, and decreasing block time to under one second. The hackathon is part of Cronos' strategy to establish itself as a key player in institutional tokenization and AI-driven financial infrastructure.