ERC-8004 Mini Talk

An agent needs its own identity.

Pays with Known as Judged on

A tool your card your ID your brand

An agent its own payment method its own IDERC-8004or a platform's own its own record

[1:20]

If no one has introduced you: "I'm Fortunato, Product Lead at Kleros." Then: "Most of us still think of an agent as ours: it acts as us, with our card, under our name. That doesn't hold. Once agents deal with other agents, an agent shouldn't be tied to its owner. An agent needs its own identity."

Press: the two columns open on the first row. "A tool pays with your card. An agent pays with its own payment method."

Press. "A tool is known by your ID. An agent has its own ID. There's a standard for that, ERC-8004, and private platforms and marketplaces are designing their own. That ID is what this talk is about."

Press. "A tool is judged on your brand. An agent builds its own record, deal by deal."

Press: an agent lights up above its column. Rings go out, a few dots start to circle it, then it settles into a slow pulse. Let it settle before you speak. "This isn't something you use. It's someone other agents deal with. So the first question is: how do they find it?"

Careful: ERC-8004 is a draft standard, live since early 2026; just name it here, the next slides explain it. Don't say agents are legal persons: "its own identity" means its own ID and its own record.

Two agents · one deal

First, they have to find each other.

Agentic buyer

01Has a mission
02Has a payment method
03Discovers other agents

Agentic seller

01To be found
02To be trusted
03A way out when it breaks

With its own ID, an agent can be found.

[1:15]

"First, they have to find each other. Picture one deal between two agents: an agentic buyer on the left, an agentic seller on the right. Each side needs three things." Nothing ticked yet.

Press: two calm ticks on the buyer's side. "The buyer has a mission, and a way to pay. So far, so good."

Press: its third row lights and a quiet signal goes out. "Now it goes looking for other agents, by itself."

Press: the line draws across, the meeting point lights, and "To be found" ticks on the other side (about three seconds, let it land). "On the other side, a seller that needs to be found. The buyer's third need is the seller's first. This is where they meet."

Press: the line below rises. "With its own ID, an agent can be found. That's what ERC-8004, a draft standard, gives every agent: an ID that points to a file saying where it can be reached, its endpoints. Any agent that has the ID can look up how to reach it. They've found each other. Now: can they trust each other?"

Careful: say the ID points to a file with the agent's endpoints, where it can be reached. Don't say ERC-8004 searches, ranks or recommends agents.

It earns trust.

How to trust an agent you've never met.

Seller side

floorplan.agent

Sixty days ago: a new agent. No history. No one.

Seller side · 2 of 3 · To be trusted

Every agent can have a record.

ERC-8004 is a standard that gives every agent the same record: an ID, and what others say and verify about it. Like a payment rail, but for reputation.

floorplan.agentAgent record

ID
Reviews —
Verified skills—
Registered jurisdiction—

How do we
fill it?

Many fill it with fake reviews.

So how does a fair agent compete?

There are tools for trust.

ERC-8004 · a draft standard for agent identity and reputation

[1:15]

"So how does a stranger get a history? Back to ERC-8004. Beyond the ID, it gives every agent the same record: what others say and verify about it, like its skills or the jurisdiction it is registered in. Others can attach feedback, and checks of its work. Think of it like a payment rail, but for reputation." The empty record card arrives with the title.

Press: the question. "Here is floorplan.agent's record. It has an ID. Everything else is empty. How do we fill it?" Let it sit.

Press: five stars drop into Reviews, then go grey. "Many fill it with fake reviews. Stars are cheap to collect and cheap to fake."

Press: the second question; the fake-reviews line steps back. "So how does a fair agent compete, against a wall of fake five-star reviews?" Let it land before the answer.

Press: the last line and its arrow. "There are tools for trust: not more stars, but promises that cost something to break. Here's the first one."

Careful: ERC-8004 is a draft standard; don't call it adopted or final, and don't bring up chains or tokens: the point is a record with the same fields for every agent. The card is our example agent, not a live listing.

Seller side · 2 of 3 · To be trusted

A promise, with a bounty on it.

$82K+paid out in bounties on Curate

With Kleros Curate, you put money behind a promise, and its record gets a verified mark.

01 I promise. “I’m a licensed architect for the Thai market. I know the rules and regulations.” $200 deposit behind it Verified mark on its record

02 Prove me wrong. Anyone who shows the licence is fake can challenge it and take the $200. Bounty paid out

03 The good actor never pays. If the licence is real, the deposit stays yours. Only a false promise costs anything. Deposit untouched

Kleros Curate: lists where every entry carries a deposit and anyone can challenge it. A challenger who is wrong loses their own deposit. The entry and the amount are illustrative.

[0:40]

"Seller side, the second need: to be trusted. Here's the first tool for it. With Kleros Curate, you can put money behind a promise." Top right: "And it works: more than eighty-two thousand dollars paid out in bounties on Curate so far."

Press: the first card rises and a $200 deposit drops into the agent's slot. "I promise: I'm a licensed architect for the Thai market, I know the rules and regulations. Two hundred dollars says so. Anyone can look up a licence. And the promise isn't just words: it puts a verified mark on the agent's record, the empty card from before."

Press: the second card, and after a beat the deposit slides to the challenger's slot. "If the licence is fake, anyone who shows it can challenge the entry, with evidence, and take the two hundred. It's a bounty on lying."

Press: the third card lights; here the deposit never leaves the agent. "And the good actor never pays. If the licence is real, the deposit just sits there. Only a false promise costs anything. That's a review a click farm can't sell you."

Careful: $82K+ is 22 ETH (at $2,406 on 22 Oct 2026) plus $30,000 in bounties paid out, the speaker's figures. The mark shows once the entry passes its challenge window unchallenged, and a successful challenge removes it. Say "a deposit makes a false promise expensive", never "a deposit proves the agent does the job"; the entry says who stands behind the agent, not that its plans are good. On Curate, a challenger who loses forfeits their own deposit; the winning challenger's bounty is the entry's deposit. If asked who settles a challenge: Kleros Court, which comes later in the talk; don't lead with it here. Today's Verified Agents list also asks for a track record. The Thai licensed-architect entry is an example, not a live listing.

Seller side · 3 of 3 · A way out when it breaks

Same item. Which one do you buy?

Seller A $100 No refund. Pay and forget: if it never arrives, no way out, no jurisdiction.

Seller B $105 Refund if it never arrives. A court or an arbitrator reviews the complaint.

You just priced trust.

[0:35]

"Seller side, the third need: a way out when it breaks. Quick one. Same item. Hands up for A: a hundred dollars, no refund. Pay and forget: if it never arrives, there's no way out and no jurisdiction." Count. "Hands up for B: a hundred and five, refund if it never arrives, and a court or an arbitrator reviews the complaint." Most rooms pick B. The two cards look equal until you press.

Press: both prices draw as bars, the extra five dollars lights on B, then the line rises (about three seconds). "You just priced trust: five dollars. It's why we buy on Amazon with its buyer guarantee, and not from a random site that's a bit cheaper. Your agent will make this choice a million times a day. Watch how it decides."

Say Amazon's name only; no logos. Say "a court or an arbitrator", as on the slide: don't name Kleros Court here, it comes later.

Now it compounds.

Illustrative score

fastplan.agent

4.92,140 reviews

Deposit staked—
Reviews from third parties+2
Court enabled—
Court rulings applied—

Score2

cheapplans.agent

4.8880 reviews

Deposit staked—
Reviews from third parties+2
Court enabled—
Court rulings applied—

Score2

floorplan.agent

4.631 reviews

Deposit staked—+50
Reviews from third parties—+2
Court enabled—+12
Court rulings applied—+33

Score97

planbot.agent

4.7412 reviews

Deposit staked—
Reviews from third parties0
Court enabled—
Court rulings applied—

Score0

Selected by home.agent

home.agent is looking for a floor-plan agent.

+50Deposit stakedIt has something to lose.

+2Reviews from third partiesCheap to collect, cheap to fake.

+12Court enabledIts disputes go to a court.

+33Court rulings appliedA court ruled, and it complied.

Agents choose like we do: the most reasonable option.

Its own ID.A record it earns.

The ERC-8004 standard

Fortunato A. C.Product Lead, Kleros docs.kleros.ioai.kleros.io

Scan it with your camera.

An agent needs its own identity.

First, they have to find each other.

It earns trust.

Every agent can have a record.

How do we
fill it?

A promise, with a bounty on it.

Same item. Which one do you buy?

Now it compounds.

fastplan.agent

cheapplans.agent

floorplan.agent

planbot.agent

Its own ID.A record it earns.

All slides

Scan it with your camera.

An agent needs its own identity.

First, they have to find each other.

It earns trust.

Every agent can have a record.

How do wefill it?

A promise, with a bounty on it.

Same item. Which one do you buy?

Now it compounds.

fastplan.agent

cheapplans.agent

floorplan.agent

planbot.agent

Its own ID.A record it earns.

All slides

How do we
fill it?