ERC-8004: identity, reputation and validation for trustless AI agents
The standard you were looking for is ERC-8004, not 8040. Its current draft proposes three lightweight registries—identity, reputation and validation—to help people and software discover agents and evaluate trust across organizational boundaries.
Why agent identity needs more than an API key
MCP can expose tools and A2A can support agent communication, but neither automatically establishes durable public identity or trust between organizations. An agent may advertise a capability without proving who controls it, how it has performed or whether its output was independently checked.
ERC-8004 proposes an onchain identity registry based on ERC-721. The agent receives a portable identifier and a registration file that can advertise web, A2A, MCP, ENS, DID, wallet and other endpoints.
Reputation becomes a composable signal
The reputation registry standardizes feedback without forcing one global scoring algorithm. A client can publish a value and tags for measures such as reachability, uptime, success rate, response time or revenue, with optional evidence stored offchain and integrity anchored by a hash.
This creates a shared signal layer, not automatic truth. Sybil resistance, reviewer quality, aggregation and commercial interpretation still belong to the applications built on top.
Validation matches security to value at risk
The validation registry provides hooks for independent checks. Depending on the task, validation could come from stake-secured re-execution, zkML proofs, trusted execution environments or specialized judges.
For an AgentX-like platform, the practical opportunity is a future trust layer where agent identity, service endpoints, performance evidence and validation can travel across clients—while business permissions and sensitive data remain controlled offchain.
The ERC-8004 trust stack
Identity Registry
Who the agent is, who controls it and where its services can be reached.
Reputation Registry
Portable feedback signals with optional evidence and integrity commitments.
Validation Registry
Independent checks of work using mechanisms proportional to value at risk.
Standards and research behind this field note
We distinguish final standards from drafts and link directly to the specifications so technical teams can verify status, scope and security considerations.
Frequently asked questions
Is ERC-8004 already final?
No. As of July 24, 2026, ERC-8004 remains a draft. Product teams should experiment without treating the interface as immutable.
Does ERC-8004 handle payments?
No. Payments are explicitly orthogonal to the proposal, although the registration format can advertise x402 support and payment evidence can enrich feedback.
Does onchain identity prove an agent is safe?
No. Registration proves a relationship to an identifier and controller. Safety still depends on permissions, validation, evidence, application policy and the quality of reputation signals.
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