EVMAuth represents a critical missing piece in the evolving AI agent economy: An open authorization protocol that enables autonomous AI systems to securely access paid resources without human intervention. EVMAuth Built on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) technology, this open-source protocol focuses exclusively on authorization—not authentication or identity management—creating a permission layer that allows AI agents to make micro-transactions and access paid services independently. The protocol addresses the fundamental mismatch between our human-centric Internet infrastructure and the emerging needs of autonomous digital agents, potentially transforming how value flows across the web. While technical challenges and adoption barriers remain, EVMAuth's success depends on developer contributions, business integrations, and users embracing digital wallets capable of delegating payment authority to their AI agents. What is EVMAuth? EVMAuth is an open protocol designed to enable secure authorization in a simple, standardized way for Web3 applications, APIs, and AI agents. At its core, it addresses a fundamental gap in the evolving digital ecosystem: How to authorize machine-to-machine transactions without human intervention. Technically speaking, EVMAuth is a smart contract written in Solidity that can be deployed to any EVM-compatible network, including Ethereum, Radius, Base, and others. It extends the ERC-1155 token standard, enabling developers to restrict and sell access to web resources, content, and applications based on token ownership. Ethereum Radius Base ERC-1155 Coinbase recently released their x402 whitepaper, which highlights the need for a protocol like EVMAuth: x402 whitepaper Legacy payment systems are designed primarily for human interactions. As such, web services are: not able to be used autonomously by AI agents, stuck using inefficient business models like subscriptions, and hindered by operational complexities such as delayed settlement times, high transaction fees, manual invoicing, and susceptibility to fraud and chargebacks.
These challenges create significant friction for AI-driven applications and machine-to-machine (M2M) transactions, preventing the full realization of autonomous digital economies. Legacy payment systems are designed primarily for human interactions. As such, web services are: not able to be used autonomously by AI agents, stuck using inefficient business models like subscriptions, and hindered by operational complexities such as delayed settlement times, high transaction fees, manual invoicing, and susceptibility to fraud and chargebacks. These challenges create significant friction for AI-driven applications and machine-to-machine (M2M) transactions, preventing the full realization of autonomous digital economies. EVMAuth is designed to work in conjunction with the HTTP 402 "Payment Required" response status code, a long-dormant part of the HTTP specification that finally has a practical implementation path in the age of AI agents and programmable money. The applications for this technology span numerous domains: Access Control: Memberships, subscriptions, and gated content
API Economy: Metered usage credits for AI services and data providers
Engagement: Gamification elements like achievements and badges
Media Distribution: Pay-per-view content and streaming access
Event Management: Digital ticketing and access verification
Software Industry: Licensing, trial access, and in-app purchases
Certification: Digital credentials and verifiable achievements
Retail: Customer loyalty programs and rewards
Crowdfunding: Backer rewards and exclusive access Access Control: Memberships, subscriptions, and gated content Access Control API Economy: Metered usage credits for AI services and data providers API Economy Engagement: Gamification elements like achievements and badges Engagement Media Distribution: Pay-per-view content and streaming access Media Distribution Event Management: Digital ticketing and access verification Event Management Software Industry: Licensing, trial access, and in-app purchases Software Industry Certification: Digital credentials and verifiable achievements Certification Retail: Customer loyalty programs and rewards Retail Crowdfunding: Backer rewards and exclusive access Crowdfunding For developers, EVMAuth offers both the core Solidity contract code and a TypeScript SDK, complete with working examples using Express, Next.js, and HTTP 402. This makes implementation straightforward for both web3 natives and traditional web developers. TypeScript SDK examples Reimagining Authorization for AI Agents The quest to create EVMAuth began with a simple problem: AI agents can't access paid resources independently. Traditional systems require human intervention—logins, passwords, and manual payments that autonomous systems can't navigate. Existing solutions had clear limitations. OAuth focuses on human identity delegation. API keys lack payment mechanisms. Traditional payment systems include verification steps designed for humans. The breakthrough came from the inherent capabilities of EVM networks. Smart contracts enable programmable execution. Tokens represent digital rights. The system operates without a human identity as its foundation. EVMAuth builds on the ERC-1155 token standard—a deliberate choice enabling both fungible and non-fungible tokens in one contract. This allows flexible representation of various access types: subscriptions, credits, permanent access, or time-limited permissions. The protocol emphasizes: Simplicity: Easy implementation
Interoperability: Cross-platform functionality
Transparency: Verifiable access rules Simplicity: Easy implementation Simplicity Interoperability: Cross-platform functionality Interoperability Transparency: Verifiable access rules Transparency The smart contract includes verification functions callable by any service to check if a wallet holds required tokens. This verification happens on-chain, ensuring consistent, tamper-resistant rule enforcement. The TypeScript SDK transforms these capabilities into developer-friendly tools compatible with existing web infrastructure. Paired with HTTP 402 "Payment Required" status codes, EVMAuth creates a standardized payment request system ideal for agent interactions. This approach shifts authorization from being identity-based to token-based. Rather than asking "who are you?", it simply asks "do you have the right token?"—a question machines can answer effortlessly. How EVMAuth Could Change the Internet EVMAuth fundamentally rethinks how software systems grant access to resources, potentially transforming the Internet's economic infrastructure. Today's Internet relies on human attention and identity. Users log in, view ads, enter payment details, and manually authorize transactions. This creates insurmountable friction for autonomous AI agents that need instant access to paid resources. EVMAuth eliminates these barriers by creating a permission layer where authorization happens programmatically through token verification, which enables several transformative shifts: Frictionless Machine Economy: AI agents can independently access paid APIs, data, and services without human approval for each transaction.
Micropayment Renaissance: Services can charge precise, usage-based fees at scales previously impractical—fractions of cents for single API calls or data points.
Composable Service Ecosystems: AI agents can dynamically discover and integrate paid services, creating complex workflows across multiple providers without pre-established relationships.
Value Capture for Creators: Content producers and API providers can monetize directly through granular access controls, bypassing attention-based models and intermediaries.
Cross-Platform Interoperability: A single authorization protocol working across different services creates unified digital access rights, simplifying the user and developer experience. Frictionless Machine Economy: AI agents can independently access paid APIs, data, and services without human approval for each transaction. Frictionless Machine Economy Micropayment Renaissance: Services can charge precise, usage-based fees at scales previously impractical—fractions of cents for single API calls or data points. Micropayment Renaissance Composable Service Ecosystems: AI agents can dynamically discover and integrate paid services, creating complex workflows across multiple providers without pre-established relationships. Composable Service Ecosystems Value Capture for Creators: Content producers and API providers can monetize directly through granular access controls, bypassing attention-based models and intermediaries. Value Capture for Creators Cross-Platform Interoperability: A single authorization protocol working across different services creates unified digital access rights, simplifying the user and developer experience. Cross-Platform Interoperability The most profound impact may be enabling truly autonomous AI agents. With EVMAuth, an agent could receive a budget, make decisions about resource allocation, and execute tasks requiring paid services—all without human intervention. This creates the infrastructure for an "agent economy" where AI systems become economic actors in their own right, transforming the Internet from a human-centric medium to one where machines do the vast majority of the browsing, to offer humans a more personalized experience. Challenges and Roadblocks Despite EVMAuth's transformative potential, several significant challenges must be addressed for widespread adoption. Technical Barriers remain, particularly around scaling. Current EVM networks face throughput limitations that could restrict high-frequency micropayment scenarios. Layer-2 solutions and optimistic rollups offer promising paths forward, but implementation complexity increases for developers. Technical Barriers User Experience Friction presents perhaps the greatest obstacle. While AI agents can already interact natively with EVMAuth through programmatic interfaces, human users require digital wallets to participate directly. The current wallet ecosystem remains intimidating for mainstream users—complex seed phrases, confusing interfaces, and security concerns create adoption hurdles. User Experience Friction Developer Education poses another challenge. Most web developers lack experience with EVM development and token-based authorization models. Simplifying integration through comprehensive SDKs and documentation is essential but requires significant investment. Developer Education Market Coordination presents a chicken-and-egg problem. Service providers hesitate to implement new authorization methods without user demand, while users have little incentive to adopt wallets without services requiring them. Market Coordination Regulatory Uncertainty surrounds programmable digital money, particularly for autonomous agents making independent financial decisions. Legal frameworks for machine-initiated transactions remain underdeveloped globally. Regulatory Uncertainty Alternative Approaches compete for mindshare. Centralized solutions offering similar capabilities without token requirements may attract developers seeking simpler implementation paths, despite sacrificing interoperability and censorship resistance. Alternative Approaches The path to adoption likely involves hybrid approaches—starting with backend implementations where AI agents leverage EVMAuth while providing traditional payment options for human users. Over time, as digital wallet adoption increases through other use cases, direct human interaction with the protocol will become more feasible. Overcoming these challenges requires focused collaboration across the ecosystem—from wallet providers simplifying user experiences to service providers implementing EVMAuth alongside existing systems during the transition period. Conclusion EVMAuth represents a crucial step toward an Internet that serves both humans and AI agents as participants in the digital economy. By solving the authorization challenge for autonomous systems, we create the foundation for entirely new categories of applications and services. The protocol's focus on simplicity, interoperability, and token-based permission models addresses a critical gap in our infrastructure. While technology constantly evolves, the need for machines to access paid resources independently will only grow more urgent as AI capabilities expand. The community is already looking ahead to complementary innovations. An encouraging discussion among Ethereum developers explores automatic authentication mechanisms that would make logging in with digital wallets completely seamless for humans. This discussion is taking place on the Ethereum Magicians forum, and could eliminate another major friction point in wallet adoption. the Ethereum Magicians forum For developers, EVMAuth offers an opportunity to build applications that transcend traditional human-centric design limitations. For businesses, it enables new revenue models based on precise value exchange rather than attention harvesting. For users, it promises a future where their AI agents can independently navigate the digital economy on their behalf. The path forward requires collaboration. I invite you to explore the EVMAuth GitHub repositories, experiment with the protocol in your applications, and contribute to its development. Whether you're building AI systems, creating digital services, or simply interested in where this is all headed, your participation can help shape the future of the web. EVMAuth GitHub repositories The technology exists today. AI agents can already leverage these capabilities. As digital wallets become more intuitive and widespread, humans, too, will benefit from this seamless authorization layer. Together, we're building the infrastructure for an Internet where value flows as freely as information—an Internet ready for the age of autonomous artificial intelligence.

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EVMAuth: An Open Authorization Protocol for the AI Agent Economy

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