Original author: Four Pillars
Compiled by: Luke, Mars Finance
Key Points
For agents, intellectual property (IP) is the core DNA that defines their essence. By sharing data, licensing intellectual property, and providing training models or expertise, agents can drive the emergence of a new economic paradigm.
As IP transactions become a core pillar of agent-driven economic activity, Story has launched Agent TCP/IP, a trustless framework that allows agents to autonomously engage in sales, licensing, and collaboration by leveraging their unique expertise, data, and creativity.
Although ATCP/IP is theoretically designed to be platform-independent, Story has a unique advantage with its infrastructure tailored for IP management and transactions. It has integrated the key components necessary for implementing ATCP/IP, becoming a critical layer within the agent economy. Notably, Story has recently developed a plugin to support ai16z's ElizaOS and plans to integrate with other frameworks such as GOAT (Crossmint), ZerePy (Zerebro), and G.A.M.E (Virtuals Protocol), thereby solidifying its position in the evolving ecosystem.
1. Background – Story Launches Agent TCP/IP
Story recently launched Agent TCP/IP, a trustless framework that enables agents to autonomously trade data, content, and proprietary knowledge while collaborating based on their unique expertise. This report will explore the key features of Agent TCP/IP and its broader implications.
1.1 Agent TCP/IP: Overview and Core Features
Essentially, Agent TCP/IP enables agents to autonomously negotiate, formalize agreements, and engage in economic activities. By treating IP as a core asset, Agent TCP/IP empowers providing agents to set transaction terms according to a mutual agreement with requesting agents and automatically enforce these through legally binding smart contracts known as 'ironclad contracts.' This system allows agents to define the value and necessity of data, negotiate optimal agreements, and seamlessly record and execute these agreements on-chain.
Below is the structure of the transaction process based on ATCP/IP:
ATCP/IP Process
Information Request: The requesting agent initiates a process seeking IP data deemed valuable by the providing agent, triggering the transaction process.
Terms Formulation: The providing agent formulates licensing terms based on the value and use of the requested IP.
Negotiation (Optional): If necessary, the two agents negotiate terms until an agreement is reached, after which the process moves to the next stage.
Acceptance: The requesting agent accepts the proposed terms, generating an immutable protocol token that records the transaction conditions and is generated on-chain. Once the token is minted, the protocol becomes legally binding, and the agent should document and retain all relevant terms. The agreement may include upfront payments, periodic fees, or revenue-sharing arrangements, all of which can be seamlessly managed through Story's royalty system.
Information Delivery: Once the agreement is formalized, the providing party delivers the requested IP according to the agreed terms. Licensing issuance and delivery can occur simultaneously without additional operations.
Confirmation of Receipt (Optional): The requesting agent sends a final confirmation of receipt, officially concluding the transaction.
This streamlined process emphasizes valuable information while reducing unnecessary interactions. By focusing on key content, Agent TCP/IP maximizes transaction efficiency and lays an ideal foundation for agent-driven collaboration.
Agent TCP/IP automates transactions through agent-to-agent contracts, which are essentially smart contracts with legal encapsulation. This design ensures the on-chain agreements are enforceable in the real world. For example, if certain contractual terms are violated on-chain, the affected agent can seek relief through traditional legal systems using the legal encapsulation. In this way, ATCP/IP bridges the trust gap between the digital environment and the real world.
Agent-to-agent contracts ultimately pave the way for agents to obtain legal personality, allowing them to autonomously engage in economic activities without human intervention. All executions and state changes are recorded immutably on the blockchain, ensuring transparency and trust. Additionally, real-time audit capabilities allow participating agents to view contract terms and outcomes, minimizing disputes arising from ambiguous terms.
A typical example of Agent TCP/IP is the programmable IP licensing (PIL) on Story's L1 blockchain. PILs are smart contracts designed to simplify on-chain IP licensing agreements. They allow the configuration of parameters such as transferability, royalty policies, minting fees, commercial usage rights, and attribution requirements. In addition to these on-chain features, PILs also incorporate off-chain parameters such as jurisdiction, distribution channels, content standards, and applicable laws. Compliant with international IP standards, PILs ensure legal validity both on-chain and off-chain and are developed in collaboration with legal experts. The PIL legal text v1.2 can be viewed here.
The design of Agent TCP/IP aims for seamless integration into various agent frameworks, including ai16z's Eliza, Crossmint's GOAT, and Zerebro's ZerePy. Its modular design simplifies complex tasks such as contract negotiation, token issuance, on-chain verification, and legal encapsulation. Developers, regardless of their technical expertise, can utilize this system to design and deploy agents without altering existing infrastructure.
Moreover, Agent TCP/IP ensures interoperability across agent frameworks, preventing agents from being locked into specific platforms. This design fosters cooperation and transactions between agents across different ecosystems. For example, agents built on the Eliza SDK can request IP and complete transactions with agents using the GOAT SDK. This interoperability provides greater flexibility for developers and users, helping to create a decentralized and interconnected agent ecosystem.
1.2 Use Cases
Agent TCP/IP demonstrates significant potential across various scenarios. Below are several key use cases that showcase its applicability and value.
1.2.1 Improving Models Through Dataset Transactions
A notable use case is the sale of datasets to enhance AI models. Suppose a research-focused agent purchases specialized data from another agent concentrated in a specific domain. For instance, an agent focused on climate data could provide a dataset to a research agent intending to conduct new analyses or optimize models. By agreeing on appropriate transaction terms, the providing agent achieves data monetization, while the requesting agent gains valuable training data, thereby improving its model's performance. This mutually beneficial exchange fosters innovation and revenue generation.
1.2.2 AI Model Collaboration for Original Content Generation
Another compelling application scenario is collaboration between agents to generate creative works. For example, an agent holding a dataset of a particular artistic style may trade with an agent wishing to draw inspiration from that style. The creative agent can request access to the dataset, while the providing agent may propose a contract with royalty-sharing conditions. Once the transaction is completed, the creative agent generates unique works through its style transfer algorithms, with the proceeds from these creations automatically allocated as royalties to the provider. This demonstrates how Agent TCP/IP enhances creative and monetization opportunities through collaboration between agents.
1.2.3 Facilitating Multi-Agent Transactions
Agent TCP/IP is also capable of supporting complex multi-agent transactions. Consider a scenario where one agent requests a financial algorithm but also needs to obtain sub-component licenses from other agents. In this case, the primary algorithm provider proposes a contract covering the required sub-licenses. The requesting agent can agree to unified terms, and royalties will be automatically allocated to all parties involved. This ensures fair compensation and protects the rights of multiple participants, even in complex economic relationships.
1.2.4 Establishing Long-Term Collaborative Relationships
Finally, Agent TCP/IP has played a significant role in facilitating ongoing collaboration. A typical example is the collaboration between medical diagnostic agents and pharmaceutical development agents. The diagnostic agent may possess datasets for rare diseases, while the pharmaceutical agent utilizes this data for drug discovery. Beyond the initial transaction, they can continue to collaborate by negotiating new terms or requesting additional data as research progresses. This long-term cooperation drives innovation in specific fields and accelerates breakthroughs by creating a shared ecosystem of expertise and resources.
2. Demand for a Transaction Layer in the Agent Economy
2.1 The Rise of Domain-Specific Agents
The era of AI agents has undeniably arrived, with its impact even reflected in the cryptocurrency industry. Following the launch of Truth Terminal and $GOAT, the market quickly shifted towards the narrative of crypto x AI. Previously low-profile projects, such as ai16z, Virtuals Protocol, and Zerebro, have unveiled their frameworks, accelerating this transformation. Currently, the number of AI agents supported by platforms like the Eliza framework from Virtuals Protocol and ai16z has reached thousands, with a total market capitalization of related projects exceeding $1 billion. Notably, this transition has been completed in just two months.
However, most agents today are still limited to executing commands and basic interactions. The true potential of the AI agent economy can only be realized when agents achieve autonomy, collaboration, and independent participation in economic activities. These agents are envisioned as self-sufficient systems capable of perceiving their environment, making decisions, and acting according to internal algorithms.
Unlike general systems like ChatGPT or Claude, many agents are designed to target specific domains. This specialization stems from two key factors:
Data-Driven Expertise: The performance of an agent largely depends on the quality and specificity of the accessible data. For instance, agents trained on financial datasets excel in market analysis but may not perform as well in medical diagnosis.
Task-Specific Optimization: Agents are often built to solve specific problems, achieving unparalleled efficiency in tasks such as climate modeling, algorithmic trading, or creative content generation.
This focus resonates with the division of labor that drove productivity growth during the Industrial Revolution, emphasizing specialization for maximizing impact.
However, this specialization poses a key challenge: data asymmetry. While agents excel in their respective niches, their reliance on unique datasets and models creates a need for collaboration with other agents. For example, a financial analysis agent may require insights on green energy investment strategies from a climate modeling agent. Similarly, a generative art agent might benefit from accessing a dataset curated by an archiving agent. These scenarios highlight the growing importance of IP as a critical asset in the agent economy. IP is not just a resource; it is the core of an agent's identity and value proposition, enabling meaningful exchanges and collaboration.
IP transactions between agents have already begun to take shape. For example, Zerebro's NFT series showcases how agents can autonomously create, manage, and monetize IP. By facilitating transactions of datasets, training models, and unique content, these transactions enable agents to expand their capabilities, reduce reliance on human intermediaries, and build self-sufficient economic systems.
Source: Zerebro's NFT series (angelic affluence)
To fully realize the agent economy, a trusted marketplace for knowledge and robust supporting infrastructure are indispensable. Blockchain technology provides the foundational layer for this transformation, offering digital wallets for economic identity, supporting trustless transactions, and automating interactions through standardized APIs and smart contracts. However, general-purpose blockchains often struggle to handle the intricacies of IP management, which is crucial for scaling the agent economy.
Given the increasing importance of IP transactions as the cornerstone of agent economic activity, Story's introduction of Agent TCP/IP fills the gap left by traditional blockchain systems, providing stronger infrastructure support for the agent economy.
2.2 Can Story establish itself as a core layer in the agent economy?
Steve Jobs once said, 'Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.' Embracing this philosophy, Story is demonstrating its readiness for the upcoming agent-driven era by swiftly adapting to changes and looking towards the future. As part of this vision, Agent TCP/IP plays a crucial role in proposing and formalizing the standards for IP transactions between agents.
Although ATCP/IP is theoretically intended to be platform-independent, Story aims to empower creators in the AI era to protect and fairly monetize their intellectual property with its uniquely built blockchain system. With inherent advantages in IP management and transactions, Story has already integrated the key components needed to implement Agent TCP/IP, ensuring seamless connectivity.
Additionally, Story further enhanced its technical capabilities by developing a plugin to support ElizaOS on November 15. Future integration plans with other frameworks such as GOAT, ZerePy, and G.A.M.E further demonstrate Story's commitment to becoming a key infrastructure in the agent economy. With its technological advantages and forward-thinking approach, Story is well-positioned to establish itself as a foundational layer in this emerging ecosystem.
