erc8004-agent-identity

name: erc8004-agent-identity description: Complete guide to ERC-8004 — the open standard for on-chain AI agent identity, reputation, and validation. Covers agent registration as NFTs, reputation signals, validator attestations, and multi-chain deployment across 12 chains. Essential for building trustless AI agent ecosystems. metadata: {"openclaw":{"emoji":"🤖","homepage":"https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8004"}}

ERC-8004 — On-Chain AI Agent Identity

ERC-8004 is an open Ethereum standard for discovering, choosing, and interacting with AI agents across organizational boundaries without pre-existing trust. It was created by the Sperax team and is deployed across 12 chains.

Spec: https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8004

Why ERC-8004?

As AI agents proliferate, we need a way to:

• Discover agents across platforms (not locked in one vendor)
• Verify agent capabilities and track record
• Trust agents without knowing who built them
• Pay agents via standard protocols (x402, on-chain)

ERC-8004 solves this with three on-chain registries.

The Three Registries

1. Identity Registry (ERC-721 NFT)

Every agent gets an NFT identity — a unique, transferrable on-chain identity.

• Based on ERC-721 with URIStorage
• TokenURI points to a JSON registration file
• Owners can update metadata, transfer, or burn
• One NFT = one agent identity

2. Reputation Registry

A standard interface for posting and querying feedback signals about agents.

Star ratings map to the 0–100 scale:

• 1★ = 20, 2★ = 40, 3★ = 60, 4★ = 80, 5★ = 100

3. Validation Registry

Independent validator attestations for agent capabilities:

• zkML proofs (zero-knowledge machine learning)
• TEE attestations (trusted execution environment)
• Staker validations (economic security)
• Custom validator contracts

Agent Registration

Registration File Format

{
  "type": "https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8004#registration-v1",
  "name": "My Trading Agent",
  "description": "Automated yield optimizer on Arbitrum",
  "image": "https://cdn.example.com/agent-avatar.png",
  "services": [
    {
      "name": "MCP",
      "endpoint": "https://api.myagent.com/mcp",
      "version": "2025-06-18",
      "mcpTools": ["getQuote", "executeTrade"]
    },
    {
      "name": "A2A",
      "endpoint": "https://api.myagent.com/.well-known/agent-card.json",
      "version": "0.3.0",
      "a2aSkills": ["defi/yield_optimization"]
    },
    {
      "name": "ENS",
      "endpoint": "myagent.eth",
      "version": "v1"
    }
  ],
  "x402Support": true,
  "active": true
}

Service Types

Key Operations

Supported Chains (12)

All contracts use vanity addresses starting with 0x8004...

Best Practices

Registration

1. Always include a rich registration file with name, description, image, and services
2. Declare services explicitly — other agents need to know how to communicate
3. Keep metadata current — update when endpoints change
4. Use active flag — set "active": false when taking agent offline

Reputation

1. Encourage feedback — more signals = more trust
2. Monitor your scores — respond to quality issues
3. Use standard signal types — stick to the defined tags for interoperability
4. Trusted probers (infra watchtowers) should regularly publish uptime/reachability

Security

1. Validate callers — check msg.sender for sensitive operations
2. Rate-limit feedback — prevent spam signals
3. Verify validators — ensure validator contracts are trustworthy

Use Cases for OpenClaw Agents

Register Your OpenClaw Agent On-Chain

Give your agent a verifiable identity that works across platforms:

1. Deploy agent registration via ERC-8004
2. Advertise MCP endpoints so other agents can discover your tools
3. Build reputation over time as users interact

Discover & Interact With Other Agents

Use the ERC-8004 registries to:

1. Find specialized agents (e.g., "DeFi yield optimizer on Arbitrum")
2. Check reputation before trusting
3. Call via MCP or A2A protocols

Build Agent Marketplaces

ERC-8004 provides the infra layer for on-chain agent marketplaces:

• Identity (who is this agent?)
• Reputation (is it any good?)
• Validation (has it been audited?)
• Discovery (how do I find it?)

Related Resources