ERC-8004, a new token standard designed for decentralized AI agents, is gearing up for deployment on the Ethereum mainnet.
With this standard, Ethereum is preparing for a significant change in its role within the artificial intelligence economy.
ERC-8004 is enabled on Ethereum. Which projects will benefit from the new AI agent standard
This upgrade adds portable reputation, identity, and verification for automated agents, laying the foundation for a trustless global market between machines
Ethereum has described this new token standard, ERC-8004, as creating discoverability and portable reputation, allowing AI agents to interact across organizations while maintaining trustworthiness wherever they go
This will unlock a global market where AI services can operate together without gatekeepers, the network said
ERC-8004 was developed by the decentralized AI (dAI) team of the Ethereum Foundation in collaboration with Consensys
At its core, this standard expands agent-to-agent (A2A) communication through three lightweight on-chain registries, including
Identity
Reputation and
Verification
Each AI agent will receive a portable identity on-chain in the form of an ERC-721 NFT, with linked metadata describing the capabilities, endpoints, and credentials of the agent, serving as a standard passport for machine actors
After that, reputation data and payment proof can be layered, allowing agents to build a verifiable behavior history without relying on a central platform
Davide Crapis, an AI lead at the Ethereum Foundation, stated that Ethereum has a unique position in securing and summarizing AI-to-AI interactions
The ERC-8004 standard is coming to mainnet, he said, adding that this launch is just the beginning; February is the starting month, which will be key
Binji, an engineer at the Ethereum Foundation, provided a broader perspective on this upgrade, stating that a large AI society will need a shared truth ledger
Civilizations can expand because humans have the ability to trust implicitly, but AI agents do not, he explained, stating that blockchain is the only suitable foundation for an agentic society, and ERC-8004 will make Ethereum and its L2s that blockchain
Which projects might benefit
This launch is expected to benefit a growing group of crypto projects focused on AI, particularly those developing agent infrastructure, coordination layer, and on-chain trading markets
Analysts and developers point out two main types as follows:
Infrastructure and tools
This includes platforms for agent discovery, coordination, and reputation tracking. Projects frequently mentioned by ecosystem followers include tools focused on creating a registry, transaction layer capabilities, interoperability, and network scalability solutions on Ethereum and its Layer-2s
AI agent applications
Covering DeFi, prediction markets, automated trading, and automated service bots, these projects rely on agents that can authenticate with each other, exchange value, and coordinate through an open network, addressing issues that ERC-8004 is designed to solve
Notably, several ecosystem maps published among developers have highlighted that dozens of teams have already brought their products into this standard, indicating early momentum before the mainnet goes live
Connection x402
The impact of ERC-8004 may be amplified due to the cooperation line with x402, which is a protocol for micropayments on the internet between agents specifically
x402 is designed based on HTTP 402 response and payments with stablecoins, allowing agents to pay for API data or processing resources without needing an account, API key, or intermediary
Market analysts believe that the portable reputation data layer of ERC-8004, combined with the frictionless payment of x402, creates a comprehensive system for decentralized AI trading
Some parties see that such matching will increase the demand for tokens related to the infrastructure of agents and payment systems as acceptance grows
Test for AI goals of Ethereum
As the global AI market is expected to exceed 1 trillion USD by 2031, Ethereum is betting that open and neutral infrastructure will succeed over the closed systems of the business sector
By anchoring identity, reputation, and settlement on-chain, ERC-8004 positions Ethereum as the coordination layer for automated agents, not just a single application
Whether this concept will translate into ongoing network activities and value creation will become clearer in the months following the launch
Currently, ERC-8004 represents a significant effort by Ethereum to affirm its role at the intersection of blockchain and AI
