I Don't Get ERC-8004 (Trustless Agents)

The author questions the value of ERC-8004, a new Ethereum standard for onchain agent registries that has gained popularity since the Trustless Agent Day at DevConnect, arguing that its messaging is vague and that the registry is too early for people to choose agents from it. The standard has three parts: an Identity Registry where each agent is an ERC721 NFT pointing to a registration document, a Reputation Registry where clients submit 0-100 scores and tags, and a Validation Registry with hooks for validators to return 0-100 scores. The author argues that open registries remove the network effect moat, that the registry neither hosts agents nor holds developers accountable, and that feedback cannot be verified. The author also notes that token-curated registries from earlier in crypto saw no adoption in practice.