The organization behind Ethereum is aiming to position the popular DeFi blockchain as the primary platform for both executing transactions and coordinating activities among self-governing artificial intelligence entities.
The Ethereum Foundation is actively joining the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence by introducing a specialized division called the “dAI Team.” Their core mission is to establish Ethereum as the leading blockchain for “settlement and coordination” pertaining to AI agents and the automated, machine-driven economy. This strategic move unfolds as other blockchain networks, including NEAR Protocol and Solana, are also pursuing parallel endeavors to construct blockchain-based foundations tailored for the advancing AI economy.
In a statement released on social media platform X on Monday, September 15th, Davide Crapis, the leader of the dAI Team and a former researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, detailed the team’s dual focus. Firstly, they are committed to developing tools that enable AI agents and automated programs to conduct transactions and adhere to pre-defined rules independently, without the need for intermediaries. Secondly, the focus will be on promoting a decentralized AI infrastructure, ensuring that future AI development is not overly reliant on a limited number of centralized corporations.
A key component of this initiative is ERC-8004, a new Ethereum standard currently in development, often referred to as a “trust layer.” This standard aims to provide AI agents with a type of on-chain reputation system.
“This standard enhances the Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol by introducing a trust framework that allows participants to identify, select, and engage with agents across different organizational boundaries without requiring pre-established trust,” Crapis articulated in a forum post outlining the proposed standard.
Instead of unconditionally trusting a bot, ERC-8004 would allow users to verify the agent’s identity, review its historical behavior, and confirm its compliance with specific requirements using registries hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. Crapis also mentioned that the Ethereum Foundation will collaborate closely with the Linux Foundation and stakeholders within the A2A ecosystem to “refine and improve the specifications of this extension.”
Nick Johnson, the leading developer at ENS, a protocol for blockchain-based domain names, expressed to The Defiant that the most pressing challenge concerning AI is the development of “decentralized standards for agent identity and trust. This ensures that autonomous systems remain accountable and interoperable.”
“In a future where AI agents are transacting and collaborating on-chain, technologists must deliberate on how signature protocols, such as those underpinning ENS, can establish the benchmarks for integrated identity and reputational transparency, thereby preventing centralized approaches from dominating,” Johnson commented to The Defiant.
Entering a Competitive Field
The Ethereum Foundation’s establishment of a dedicated team focused on decentralized AI and the future AI agent economy places them among other key players already striving to become the premier network for the decentralized AI economy.
NEAR Protocol has positioned itself as “the blockchain for AI,” developing frameworks like Shade Agents, which facilitate autonomous bots acting across multiple blockchains while preserving data privacy.
Alex Shevchenko, formerly a product manager at NEAR Protocol and currently CEO of Aurora Labs, told The Defiant that “there are two main areas of interest for AI on the blockchain: value transfer and research.”
“The existing financial infrastructure isn’t suitable for AI agents, implying that crypto has a significant opportunity to enable the AI economy. AI research is another promising area. Currently, all AI research is confined within specific businesses, limiting the potential benefits of network effects and creating inefficiencies. Collaboration through decentralized, confidential machine learning offers a better approach.”
Solana is also empowering developers with an Agent Kit, enabling them to directly integrate AI models into DeFi applications and other on-chain services. This functionality allows AI agents to autonomously manage trading activities, liquidity provisions, and a variety of DeFi and web3 operations, including NFT creation and lending.
SingularityNET, a blockchain protocol specifically dedicated to decentralized AI, is taking a collaborative approach unlike its rivals. They are merging with Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol to establish the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance. This alliance serves as a collaborative AI environment where the three projects pool resources, providing developers with a unified ecosystem to deploy AI solutions without dependence on centralized entities.
Outside of the crypto space, technology giant Google recently unveiled its own payments protocol for AI agents, AP2, through Google Cloud. They are promising a blend of traditional finance payment methods and stablecoins. Google Cloud’s crypto collaborators in this venture include Coinbase, MetaMask, and even the Ethereum Foundation itself.