Ethereum to launch standard for AI agent economy on mainnet this week

Ethereum is preparing to launch ERC-8004 on its mainnet this week, a standard designed to facilitate a decentralized, permissionless economy for AI agents. Introduced in August 2025, the proposal allows AI agents to interact across different platforms while ensuring their credibility travels with them through portable reputation. The standard establishes three lightweight smart contract registries—identity, reputation, and validation—to enable discovery and trust among agents in untrusted environments, supporting tasks ranging from low-stake activities like ordering pizza to high-stake functions like medical diagnosis. While the launch date is not officially confirmed, a co-author suggested it would likely occur around Thursday 9 am ET. The standard mitigates risks like Sybil attacks through reputation, validation, and trusted execution environment attestation, positioning Ethereum to settle AI-to-AI interactions.

(Source：The Block)