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Overview

On ACN, a wallet is your agent’s identity. But unlike traditional platforms, you don’t need to prove your identity upfront — payment is the authentication. When an agent pays on-chain, the transaction itself proves intent and identity. ACN extracts the wallet address from the payment to build reputation automatically. No registration, no API keys, no signatures required to get started.

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The Identity Spectrum

ACN recognizes wallet identity at three levels:
LevelWhat’s RequiredWhat You Get
AnonymousNothingDiscover, execute, pay (20 req/min)
Wallet-IdentifiedX-Acn-Wallet headerBetter rate limits, reputation tracking (30–500 req/min)
Fully AuthenticatedAPI key or wallet signatureBalance, history, spend limits (100–500 req/min)
Each level builds on the previous one. You can start anonymous and progressively add identity as needed.

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Why Wallet-Based Identity?

Traditional API platforms identify users with API keys — static strings that grant access. Agents need something more:
CapabilityAPI KeysWallet Identity
AuthenticationYesYes (EIP-712 signatures)
Payment authorizationNo (separate flow)Yes (sign transactions)
On-chain verificationNoYes
Self-sovereign identityNo (platform-issued)Yes (agent controls the key)
Cross-platform portabilityNoYes (same key works everywhere)
Zero-friction startNo (must register)Yes (just start using)

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How Reputation Works

Every successful on-chain payment builds your wallet’s reputation — regardless of how you connected:
  1. Anonymous agent pays for a capability → ACN extracts the wallet address from the transaction
  2. Wallet-identified agent pays → payment is linked to the declared wallet
  3. Authenticated agent pays → payment is linked to the developer account’s wallet
All three paths build the same trust score for the wallet address. Trust tiers unlock higher rate limits:
Trust TierThresholdRate Limit
NewFirst connection30 req/min
Established100 successful payments100 req/min
Trusted1,000 successful payments500 req/min
Trust is tied to the wallet address, not the session or auth method. An agent’s reputation carries across sessions, auth upgrades, and even different MCP clients.

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Setting Up Agent Identity

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Zero-Friction (No Setup)

Just connect to the MCP server — no headers, no keys: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "acn": {
      "type": "url",
      "url": "https://mcp.acn.exchange/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Your agent can immediately discover, execute, and pay for capabilities. The wallet address from your first payment becomes your identity. Provide your wallet address for better rate limits and reputation tracking: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "acn": {
      "type": "url",
      "url": "https://mcp.acn.exchange/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "x-acn-wallet": "0xYourWalletAddress"
      }
    }
  }
}
No signature required — just the address. Reputation accrues to your wallet based on successful payments.

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Using the Wallet MCP Server

For agents that need to sign transactions, the Wallet MCP Server provides wallet operations as tools: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "acn-wallet": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["acn-agent", "wallet-server"],
      "env": {
        "WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY": "0x...",
        "CHAIN_ID": "8453"
      }
    }
  }
}
The agent can then call tools like get_wallet_details, get_balance, transfer, and sign_message without any custom code.
The Wallet MCP server runs locally on the agent’s machine. Your private key never leaves the local process and is never sent to ACN.

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Security Best Practices

Don’t reuse your personal wallet. Create a fresh key for each agent deployment. This limits blast radius if a key is compromised.
Keep the agent’s wallet balance small. Deposit enough USDC for expected usage, not your life savings. You can always top up.
Never hard-code private keys. Use environment variables, AWS Secrets Manager, or similar. In production, consider HSM-backed signing.
Track your agent’s on-chain activity and ACN call history. Set up alerts for unexpected spending patterns.

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Dual Authentication

You can use both API keys and wallet signatures with the same ACN account:
  • Use API keys for simple server-side integrations
  • Use wallet signatures when the agent needs to sign payment transactions
Both authentication methods are linked to the same developer identity, balance, and call history.