ERC-8004 standard for on-chain AI agents set to launch on Ethereum

Beincrypto reports ERC-8004, a new token standard for decentralized AI agents, is poised for deployment on the Ethereum mainnet. The upgrade introduces portable identity, reputation, and validation for autonomous agents through three lightweight on-chain registries: Identity, Reputation, and Validation.

Each agent is issued a portable on-chain identity as an ERC-721 NFT with linked metadata that outlines capabilities, endpoints, and credentials; reputation data and payment proofs can be layered to build verifiable behavioral histories without centralized platforms. The standard was developed by the Ethereum Foundation’s decentralized AI (dAI) team alongside Consensys.

Ethereum said ERC-8004 will enable "discovery and portable reputation," unlocking a global market where AI services can interoperate without gatekeepers. The standard aligns with x402, a protocol for internet-native micropayments built around HTTP 402 responses and stablecoin settlement to let agents pay for APIs, data, or compute without accounts or API keys.