diff --git a/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/cover-image.webp b/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/cover-image.webp new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..1030e958140 Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/cover-image.webp differ diff --git a/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/image-1.webp b/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/image-1.webp new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..fbd3602dbdb Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/image-1.webp differ diff --git a/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/image-2.webp b/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/image-2.webp new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..02b0851d198 Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/image-2.webp differ diff --git a/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/index.md b/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/index.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..65211d54237 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2026-08-24-what-is-erc-8126/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,122 @@ +--- +slug: what-is-erc-8126 +title: 'What Is ERC-8126? How Does It Work?' +authors: [push] +image: './cover-image.webp' +description: "Learn what ERC8126 is and what makes it a revolutionary standard for deriving, verifying and validating the reputation of onchain AI agents" +text: "Learn what ERC8126 is and what makes it a revolutionary standard for deriving, verifying and validating the reputation of onchain AI agents" +tags: [Maker Monday, Key Features] +twitterId: "2091891593011974552" +--- + +![Cover Image of What Is ERC-8126](./cover-image.webp) + + + +There are studies that show that humans have become more sceptical with every passing decade. + +This is something we all can totally relate to. + +Look at us today. Our day starts by second-guessing the sugar content in a cereal marketed as diet-friendly. + +Even in the online realm, we doubt whether a freelancer is half as good as their Fiverr bio or whether our LLM subscription is secretly stealing our data and running malicious scripts. + +The same thesis applies to AI agents. Especially onchain agents. + +To tackle this, Marco De Rossi of MetaMask, Davide Crapis of the Ethereum Foundation, Jordan Ellis of Google and Erik Reppel from Coinbase developed [ERC-8004](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8004): an identity recognition standard for AI agents on EVM chains. + +But it was not sufficient to tackle questions like: + +- "How do I know this agent is safe to interact with?" +- "Does its contract actually exist, and is it safe?" +- "Is its profile data its own, or stolen?" +- "Has its wallet been involved in anything bad?" +- "Is its website real, or a copy?" + +:::success[ ] + +**Quick TL;DR on [ERC-8004](https://push.org/blog/ai-agent-identities-in-crypto/):** it is an Ethereum standard for discovering AI agents and creating trust signals about them, built on three registries. The **Identity Registry** mints each agent an ERC-721 identity with its own `agentId` and Agent Card. The **Reputation Registry** stores client feedback on past performance. The **Validation Registry** records independent checks of an agent's work as onchain verifiable evidence. What it does not do: define payments, replace MCP or A2A, or guarantee an agent's safety. + +::: + +And that's when Leigh Cronian from [Cybercentry](https://www.cybercentry.co.uk/) and Don Johnson from [Virtuals Protocol](https://www.virtuals.io/) coauthored ERC-8126. + +[Complete Specification](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8126). + +## Quick TLDR; + +- ERC-8126 is a standardised verification framework for AI agents using ERC-8004 +- Provides a marketplace of independent providers +- Delivers five verification layers: Ethereum Token Verification, Media Content Verification, Solidity Code Verification, Web Application Verification, and Wallet Verification. +- Privacy is preserved through Zero-Knowledge Proofs, allowing attestations without exposing sensitive data. +- Builds the missing verification layer for trustworthy agent economies. + +## How does ERC-8126 work? + +Before getting into the 'hows', let's first establish the scope of ERC-8126. Like does it operate fully on-chain? Or not? + +Most of ERC-8126 work happens off-chain. + +The respective EVM chain stores the agent identity. A verification provider performs an extensive security analysis outside the blockchain. The provider can then publish a result or attestation that other applications can use. + +![Diagram of how ERC-8126 works](./image-1.webp) + +ERC-8126 defines five main security checks. + +| Check | Name | What it looks at | +| --- | --- | --- | +| **ETV** | Ethereum Token Verification | Smart contract presence and security | +| **MCV** | Media Content Verification | Media origin, integrity, and manipulation | +| **SCV** | Solidity Code Verification | Solidity code and known security problems | +| **WAV** | Web Application Verification | Agent web endpoints and HTTPS security | +| **WV** | Wallet Verification | Wallet history and known threat signals | + +![Diagram of the ERC-8126 agent verification protocol flow](./image-2.webp) + +ERC-8126 does not tell an AI agent what it can do. + +It tells other systems how much technical risk the agent presents at the time of verification. + +1. **Request phase:** The agent registered via ERC-8004 sends the agentId to a verification provider. +2. **Resolve identity:** The provider then calls and validates the `tokenURI(agentId)` on the ERC-8004 identity registry. +3. **Read metadata:** The registry URI gives a JSON file with the agent data. +4. **Extract data:** wallet, contract, code, URL, image assets. +5. **Perform checks:** each check gives a score of 1-100: + - ETV = Is the contract safe? + - MCV = Is the image unaltered and genuine? + - SCV = Does the code have known weaknesses? + - WAV = Is the endpoint live? Has HTTPS? + - WV = Does the wallet look legitimate? +6. **Mean Risk Score:** Provider then takes a mean of all applicable scores and outputs a result between 1-100. +7. **Generate ZK Proof:** PDV creates a zero knowledge proof for each result. Each proof has a proofID. +8. **Result:** + - Owner sees the details — only the agent wallet holder reads the full report. + - Registry sees the proof — the score and proofID may go to the ERC-8004 validation registry. + +Within this entire process, nothing from steps 5-7 run onchain. Only the identity part from steps 1-2 and the optional attestation in Step 8b get recorded onchain. + +Remember, the score reports the state of the agent at one moment. It nowhere predicts its future behaviour. + +## Use Cases + +Consider an agent that wants permission to manage a wallet. + +The wallet can first check the agent's ERC-8004 identity. It can then read an ERC-8126 verification result. If the risk is high, the wallet can reject the request or reduce the agent's permissions. + +An agent marketplace can use the same model before it lists an agent. + +A DeFi application can first verify the score before it allows an automated agent to transact. + +One agent can check another agent before it starts an economic interaction. + +A company can also require periodic re-verification for agents that control important systems. + +## TLDR; + +ERC-8126 replaces non-deterministic validation — "Trust this agent". + +With a deterministic system that says: + +*"This is the agent. These parts of it were checked. This was the measured risk. This is the proof."* + +If you want to dig deeper into the AI x crypto rabbit hole, read about the [AI agent stack](https://push.org/blog/understanding-the-crypto-ai-agent-stack/) and [how agents transact onchain](https://push.org/blog/how-do-ai-agents-transact-onchain/). diff --git a/static/content/blogtags.json b/static/content/blogtags.json index a1b19ec9c95..b67a9644b4f 100644 --- a/static/content/blogtags.json +++ b/static/content/blogtags.json @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ "link": "/blog/tags/key-features/", "priority": 2, "category": "Key Features", - "count": 18 + "count": 19 }, { "name": "Technical", @@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ "link": "/blog/tags/maker-monday/", "priority": 9, "category": "Maker Monday", - "count": 17 + "count": 18 }, { "name": "Deep Dives", diff --git a/static/llms-preseed.txt b/static/llms-preseed.txt index ba98cf9239e..ea052e48cfc 100644 --- a/static/llms-preseed.txt +++ b/static/llms-preseed.txt @@ -103,8 +103,9 @@ Deploy smart contracts once on Push Chain and instantly reach users on Ethereum, - [Running Localnet](https://push.org/docs/chain/node-and-system-tools/localnet/) - [JSON-RPC Functions](https://push.org/docs/chain/node-and-system-tools/json-rpc-functions/) -## Latest Blogs - Showing 70 latest blogs +## Latest Blogs - Showing 71 latest blogs +- [What Is ERC-8126? How Does It Work?](https://push.org/blog/what-is-erc-8126/): Learn what ERC8126 is and what makes it a revolutionary standard for deriving, verifying and validating the reputation of onchain AI agents - [AI Agent Identities in Crypto - Everything You Need To Know](https://push.org/blog/ai-agent-identities-in-crypto/): Learn what ERC8004 is and what makes it a revolutionary standard for defining, identifying and tracking the reputation of onchain AI agents - [Highest Revenue Generating Crypto AI Agent Protocols of 2026](https://push.org/blog/highest-revenue-generating-crypto-ai-agent-protocols-of-2026/): Find out the highest revenue generating crypto AI agent protocols of 2026 - [How Do AI Agents Transact Onchain?](https://push.org/blog/how-do-ai-agents-transact-onchain/): Find out how crypto AI agents transact autonomously and securely.