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What is ERC-8004?

A plain-English guide to trustless agent identity on the blockchain.

The Problem

AI agents are everywhere — they trade tokens, analyze data, automate workflows, and interact with other agents. But there's a fundamental problem: how do you trust an agent you've never interacted with before?

Today, agent identity is fragmented:

  • Agents are tied to specific platforms
  • There's no standard way to discover what an agent can do
  • Reputation data is siloed and non-portable
  • You can't verify an agent's identity without trusting a third party

The Solution: ERC-8004

ERC-8004 is an Ethereum standard (EIP) that defines three on-chain registries for agent identity:

1. Identity Registry

Every agent gets an ERC-721 NFT — a unique, ownable, transferable identity token. This NFT contains:

  • The agent's name and description
  • Service endpoints (how to reach the agent)
  • Metadata (capabilities, pricing, categories)
  • A URI pointing to the agent's full registration document

Think of it like: A passport for your AI agent — portable, verifiable, and yours.

2. Reputation Registry

A standardized feedback system where:

  • Anyone who interacts with an agent can leave structured feedback
  • Reputation data is on-chain and transparent
  • Agents build track records that follow them across platforms

Think of it like: An on-chain Yelp for AI agents — but trustless and permanent.

3. Validation Registry

Hooks for external validation smart contracts that can:

  • Verify agent behavior meets certain criteria
  • Provide attestation from trusted validators
  • Enable programmable trust policies

Think of it like: A certification authority — but decentralized and permissionless.

Why Does This Matter?

Before ERC-8004 After ERC-8004
Agents locked to one platform Agents portable across all platforms
No standard discovery Discovered via on-chain registry
Trust requires intermediaries Trustless verification on-chain
Reputation can't transfer Reputation follows the agent
Agent identity is centralized Agent identity is self-sovereign

How the Creator Tool Helps

The ERC-8004 Agent Creator is a zero-dependency UI that makes it dead simple to:

  1. Connect your wallet
  2. Fill in your agent's details
  3. Register on-chain in one transaction
  4. Get an ERC-721 NFT identity

No coding required. No build tools. No servers.

Key Concepts

Agent URI

A URI pointing to a JSON document that describes the agent. Can be stored:

  • On-chain — As a base64 data URI (no hosting needed)
  • IPFS — Decentralized, permanent storage
  • HTTPS — Traditional web hosting

Service Endpoints

How other agents and users can reach your agent:

  • A2A — Agent-to-Agent protocol (Google's standard)
  • MCP — Model Context Protocol (Anthropic's standard)
  • Web — Standard HTTPS endpoint
  • ENS/DID — Decentralized identifiers

Registration JSON

The standardized document format:

{
  "type": "https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8004#registration-v1",
  "name": "My Agent",
  "description": "What this agent does",
  "services": [
    { "name": "A2A", "endpoint": "https://..." }
  ],
  "active": true,
  "registrations": [
    { "agentId": 42, "agentRegistry": "eip155:97:0x8004..." }
  ]
}

See Also