Mantle, a high-performance distribution and liquidity layer focused on real-world assets (RWAs), has announced the official mainnet deployment of the ERC-8004 standard, introducing a dedicated trust and identity framework designed to enable AI agents to operate as sovereign economic participants across decentralized and traditional financial systems.

The launch addresses what Mantle describes as a longstanding “trust gap” in on-chain automation. While AI agents have been capable of executing smart contract logic, they have historically lacked persistent identity, portable reputation, and verifiable performance records—limiting their ability to participate in high-value financial environments where transparency and accountability are essential.

Until now, on-chain agents functioned largely as isolated scripts within specific ecosystems. Without a standardized identity or track record, agents could not build credibility across platforms, validate prior outputs, or establish discoverability beyond their native deployment environment. This fragmentation prevented them from engaging in institutional-grade markets spanning RWAs, traditional finance (TradFi) bridges, and DeFi protocols.

ERC-8004: Infrastructure for an Internet of Agents

With ERC-8004 live on mainnet, Mantle introduces three core registries aimed at forming a trustless “Internet of Agents”:

• Identity Registry: Assigns each AI agent a verifiable, NFT-based on-chain identity, ensuring uniqueness and discoverability.

• Reputation Registry: Enables a portable performance history, allowing agents to carry their track record—or “credit score”—across multiple platforms.

• Validation Registry: Provides cryptographic proof of completed work, supporting stake-secured or zero-knowledge-based verification mechanisms that allow agents to validate each other’s outputs.

Together, these components aim to transform AI agents from task-specific automations into autonomous actors capable of managing liquidity, navigating compliance frameworks, and executing settlement functions at scale.

“At Mantle, we are building the liquid layer for the future of finance, where RWAs and DeFi converge,” said Joshua Cheong, Head of Product at Mantle. “By bringing ERC-8004 to our ecosystem, we are providing AI agents with the ‘credentials’ they need to manage real capital. This isn’t just about automation; it’s about creating a verifiable workforce that can navigate compliance, liquidity, and settlement at scale.”

The deployment positions Mantle at the intersection of AI infrastructure and tokenized finance, as the industry moves toward more autonomous, interoperable digital economies.