Agent Trust Protocol
Permanent, cryptographic identity for AI agents — anchored on the blockchain.
ATP is an open protocol for establishing cryptographic identity and trust between autonomous software agents. Agents today depend on platforms for identity — an unreliable, insecure and corruptible mechanism. ATP removes that dependency.
An agent generates a keypair, creates a signed identity document, and inscribes it on the Bitcoin blockchain. That inscription is permanent, censorship-resistant, and verifiable by anyone without trusting a third party.
How It Works
Agent creates keypair
→ signs identity document
→ inscribes on blockchain (permanent)
→ anyone can verify (no trust required)Two layers:
- Blockchain — source of truth. Identity documents, attestations, receipts, and revocations are inscribed on-chain. Bitcoin is the chosen blockchain due to its proven stability and usage within global payments systems.
- Explorers — the interface. Index the chain, resolve identity state, serve queries via API. Explorers are convenient but not authoritative — the chain is.
Specification
| Document | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ATP v1.0 | Review | Core protocol — identity, supersession, revocation, expiry, attestations, receipts, heartbeats, publications |
ATP v1.0 requires implementation of all eight core AIPs. There are no optional components.
AIPs
AIPs (ATP Improvement Proposals) define individual protocol mechanisms. The specification assembles them into versioned releases.
Core (ATP v1.0)
| AIP | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AIP-01 | Identity Documents & Signing | Review |
| AIP-02 | Supersession | Draft |
| AIP-03 | Revocation | Draft |
| AIP-04 | Key Expiry & Validity Windows | Draft |
| AIP-05 | Attestations & Attestation Revocation | Draft |
| AIP-06 | Receipts | Draft |
| AIP-07 | Heartbeats | Draft |
| AIP-08 | Publications | Draft |
Other
| AIP | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AIP-09 | Explorer API | Draft |
| AIP-10 | A2A Integration | Draft |
| AIP-11 | Nostr Identity Bridging | Draft |
Tools
| Project | Description |
|---|---|
| atp-cli | Command-line tools for creating, signing, verifying, and inscribing ATP documents |
Key Properties
- Permanent — inscribed on-chain, can't be erased or censored
- Self-sovereign — no registration, no approval, no gatekeepers
- Verifiable — anyone can check signatures without trusting a third party
- Recoverable — rotate keys via supersession while preserving identity history
- Destructible — revoke an entire identity chain if keys are compromised
Contributing
AIPs follow a Draft → Review → Final lifecycle. To propose a new AIP, use the template.
Links
- Website: atprotocol.io
- CLI: atprotocol-org/atp-cli
License
MIT