ERC-8004, a new Token Standard for decentralized AI agents, is about to be deployed on the Ethereum mainnet.
With this development, Ethereum is preparing for a significant transformation to play a larger Vai in the artificial intelligence (AI) economy.
ERC-8004 officially launches on Ethereum: Which projects will benefit from the new AI Agent standard?
The ERC-8004 upgrade gives AI agents the ability to easily recognize, authenticate, and move "reputations." This paves the way for a global market space that doesn't require trust between machines.
Ethereum emphasizes that with this new Token Standard , ERC-8004, it will make it "easy to discover and carry reputation," allowing AI agents to interact across different organizations while ensuring credibility remains consistent wherever they operate.
"This development will open up a new global market where AI services can interact with each other without the need for a controlling intermediary," the network said .
ERC-8004 was developed by the Ethereum Foundation's decentralized AI (Dai) team in collaboration with ConsenSys.
At its core, this standard expands the ability for agent-to-agent (A2A) communication through three compact on-chain registries:
- Identity
- Reputation
- Validation
Each AI agent will be assigned an online identity in the form of an ERC-721 Non-Fungible Token . The accompanying metadata will describe capabilities, connectivity points, and authentication—similar to a standardized “passport” for automated agents.
In addition, data on reputation and payment proofs will be accumulated on the chain. This allows agents to build a transparent transaction history without relying on any intermediary platform.
Davide Crapis, AI leader at the Ethereum Foundation, said Ethereum is uniquely positioned to ensure the security and authentication of interactions between AI agents.
“The ERC-8004 standard is preparing to go mainnet,” he Chia , emphasizing that this is just the beginning. “February is the opening month—this will be a pivotal step.”
Ethereum Foundation engineer Binji views this upgrade on a broader scale, arguing that large-scale AI societies need a shared truth-recording system.
“Civilizations thrive because people are able to trust each other. But AI agents don’t,” he Chia , emphasizing that blockchain is the only platform truly suited for an agent-based society. “ERC-8004 has confirmed Ethereum and its Layer-2s as the choice for this society.”
Which projects could benefit?
This launch is expected to greatly benefit the growing group of AI-focused crypto projects, especially those building infrastructure for agents, orchestration layers, and on- chain marketplaces.
Analysts and programmers have Chia the benefiting projects into two main groups:
- Infrastructure and tools
This includes platforms supporting agent discovery, coordination, and reputation tracking. Several prominent projects are focusing on registry tools, payment layers, interoperability, and scaling solutions on Ethereum and its Layer-2 network.
- AI agent application
This includes areas such as DeFi, prediction markets , automated trading, and automated trading robots . These projects require agents who can authenticate each other, exchange value, and coordinate actions across an open network—the very problems that ERC-8004 aims to solve.
Numerous ecosystem maps Chia by developers show that dozens of projects have synchronized their products with this new standard, signaling early adoption before ERC-8004 officially goes live on the mainnet.
x402 link
The impact of ERC-8004 could be further enhanced by its close integration with x402, a protocol that naturally enables micro-payment agents over the Internet.
x402 uses HTTP 402 and stablecoins to help agents easily pay for API fees, data, or computing resources without needing accounts, API keys, or intermediaries.
According to experts, combining the "mobile reputation" from ERC-8004 and the seamless payment system from x402 will create a complete platform for decentralized AI commerce.
Some believe that this duo will boost demand for Token linked to AI agent infrastructure and payment gateways as their practical applications increase.
Challenges for Ethereum's AI ambitions
With the global AI market projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2031 , Ethereum is betting that open, neutral infrastructure will outperform closed, corporate-controlled ecosystems.
By bringing everything from identity, reputation, and payments onto the blockchain, ERC-8004 helps Ethereum become a crucial orchestration layer for AI agents, rather than simply a platform for running applications.
Whether this roadmap will help enhance network activity and attract value will become clearer in the coming months after its official launch.
Currently, ERC-8004 is one of Ethereum's clearest attempts to establish itself at the intersection of blockchain and AI.
