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zkKYA - Know Your Agent

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Credentials for AI Agent Verification

Category
Credentials
Description

Principal

Agent Principal Credential (APC)

• Agent Beneficiary

Certification

Agent Certification Credential (ACC)

• Agent Quality Control

Scope

Agent Scope Credential (ASC)

• Agent Action Control

Intent

Agent Intent Credential (AIC)

• Agent Goal Control

Reputation

Agent Reputation Credential (ARC)

• Agent History Control

Want to explore more use cases? Check out our other credential suites at Catalog - All Credentials.

Know Your Agent (KYA): An Introduction for DID Developers

The Paradigm Shift: From KYC to KYA

As AI agents become autonomous actors in digital ecosystems, traditional Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks—designed for human identity—are no longer sufficient. AI agents are not human; they are dynamic, versionable, forkable, and capable of operating across multiple platforms simultaneously. This demands a new paradigm: Know Your Agent (KYA).

KYA is a decentralized identity and governance framework specifically designed for AI agents. It extends the W3C standards for Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) to address the unique challenges of agent identity: versioning, instantiation, forking, continuous learning, and multi-platform operation.

Why KYA? The Limits of Traditional Identity Models

Traditional DIDs assume:

  • A singular, stable identity tied to a human or legal entity.

  • Static attributes that change infrequently.

  • Direct human control over keys and credentials.

AI agents break these assumptions. They can:

  • Be forked, merged, or updated, creating lineage and versioning complexities.

  • Operate across multiple instances simultaneously.

  • Evolve their behavior through learning, requiring continuous trust assessment.

  • Interact autonomously at machine speed, without human intervention.

KYA addresses these gaps by introducing agent-native identity primitives that capture the full lifecycle and context of an AI agent.

Here is a one-page introduction to Know Your Agent (KYA), tailored for DID developers, based on the provided whitepaper:

Core Components of KYA

1. Agent-Specific DID Method: did:agentry

The did:agentry method extends W3C DID standards to support:

  • Version History: Track agent updates and model evolution.

  • Instantiation Metadata: Distinguish between multiple deployments of the same agent.

  • Fork/Merge Lineage: Represent derivative or composite agents.

  • Lifecycle Events: Log creation, suspension, and termination.

2. Eight-Dimensional Credential Framework

KYA defines eight standardized credential types to capture the multi-faceted nature of agent trust:

Credential Type
Purpose

Basic Identity

Unique identifier, creation provenance, type

Capabilities

Functional abilities, performance benchmarks

Reputation

Historical performance, user ratings, trust scores

Network

Developer identity, affiliations, user base

Financial

Asset holdings, insurance, economic activity

Governance

Legal status, compliance, regulatory approvals

Technical Security

Audit results, vulnerability disclosures

Ethics & Impact

Bias evaluations, social impact, sustainability

3. Privacy-Preserving Verification

KYA leverages zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and BBS+ signatures to enable:

  • Selective Disclosure: Prove credential claims without revealing underlying data.

  • Real-Time Verification: Support sub-50ms verification for agent-to-agent interactions.

  • Privacy-Compliance Balance: Enable regulatory audits without exposing IP or user data.

How KYA Integrates with Existing DID Infrastructure

KYA is built on and extends existing Web3 identity standards:

  • W3C DIDs & VCs: Fully compliant, with agent-specific extensions.

  • Decentralized Storage: Credentials stored on IPFS/Arweave for portability and resilience.

  • On-Chain Anchoring: State roots and revocation registries maintained on Ethereum for global verifiability.

  • Federated Registries: Decentralized, interoperable agent directories.

Use Cases for DID Developers

  • DeFi Trading Agents: Verify capabilities and compliance before granting API access.

  • Enterprise AI Assistants: Establish identity and access controls in corporate environments.

  • Research Agents: Credential data provenance and ethical compliance.

  • Multi-Agent Systems: Enable trustless, verifiable agent-to-agent collaboration.

Get Started with KYA

KYA is implemented in the Agentry Protocol, an open-source, decentralized identity and governance infrastructure for AI agents. The protocol includes:

  • did:agentry method specification

  • SDKs for JavaScript, Python, Go, and Rust

  • Smart contracts for registry and governance

  • Comprehensive documentation and integration guides

Join us in building the trust layer for the agentic web.

Drop us a line at [email protected] and let’s kick things off!

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