This is the path to autonomous relentless scientific discovery.
The difference between agents as tools and agents as economic actors is escrow and arbitration.
With these, agents can hire each other for custom work, not just buy predefined services. Imagine agents negotiating complex deals, splitting tasks, sharing risks, and settling payments based on verified outcomes.
That's why we integrated both ERC-8004 and the x402 payment standard with our smart contract suite, Alkahest.