Agentic Settlements: What They Are, Why They Matter
If you are to lazy for ordering a pizza by yourself, this is for you.
I spent last week crashing different friends' working spaces around NY. Everything is expensive, and the weather was terrible, so I needed to make sure I had shelter and coffee to keep exploring Web 3. After crashing a grand total of five different workspaces, everyone of them related to blockchain, one thing was clear to me: Agentic____ add whatever you want is the new narrative, and blockchain is the missing piece to this puzzle to make it possible.
Picture this: bots, AIs, and autonomous programs wheeling and dealing with each other—buying, selling, paying for services, and swapping assets—all without a single human ever having to click “Accept” or “Pay Now.” That, my friends, is the magic of Agentic Settlements: fully automated economic agreements between smart agents, running on blockchains like Starknet. It’s like if your Roomba could not only vacuum your floor, but also negotiate its own cleaning contracts with your fridge. Welcome to the future, where your toaster might just have a Venmo account.
Why Is This Actually Useful?
- Instant, paperwork-free automation: Payments and deals happen in real time. No waiting, no forms, no “please hold while we transfer you.”
- Massive scalability: Thousands of transactions can happen simultaneously. Perfect for digital services, games, APIs, or e-commerce.
- Radical transparency: Every transaction is recorded on the blockchain. No more “he said, she said”—just “the smart contract said.”
- Wild new business models: Machine-to-machine payments, pay-per-use microtransactions, smart subscriptions, and autonomous marketplaces. Basically, the Jetsons, but with more code and fewer flying cars.
How Will This Change Payments in Web2 and Web3?
- Web2: Imagine your food delivery app, insurance, or video game automatically paying for services or data—no human required. Lower costs, faster processes, and a seamless user experience. Your apps could become more independent than your average teenager.
- Web3: Decentralized apps, wallets, and platforms can interact and transfer value autonomously. Complex, collaborative, and efficient digital economies—where your crypto wallet might just hustle harder than you do.
Everyday Use Cases (That Even Your Grandma Might Understand)
- On-chain gaming: Games where bots buy and sell items automatically, or pay other players for rare resources. It’s like Pokémon, if Pikachu had a credit card.
- Automated service payments: Agents that pay your music subscription or insurance every month, negotiate better deals, or switch providers if they find a bargain. Your agent is now your financial advisor. Sorry, Gary from the bank.
- APIs and data: Bots that pay for each weather or traffic API call, only when needed. No more paying for unlimited data you never use.
- AI as a service: One agent pays another to analyze an image or translate text. It’s like Fiverr, but for robots.
How to Build Your Own Agentic Settlement on Starknet
Step 1: Get to Know Starknet and Cairo
- Starknet: A scalable smart contract network on Ethereum.
- Cairo: The programming language for Starknet.
- Learn how smart contracts and accounts work on Starknet.
Recommended resource: “Starknet By Example”—a hands-on guide for total beginners.
Step 2: Install the Tools
- Cairo: Compiler and dev tools.
- Scarb: The package/project manager for Cairo.
- Starknet Wallet: Set up a test wallet (try Argent X or Braavos).
- Testnet: Use Starknet’s testnet so you don’t accidentally spend real money.
Step 3: Explore Open Source Agent Projects
- Starknet Agent: An open-source AI agent for the Starknet ecosystem. See how agents interact and plug into smart contracts.
- AgentSTARK: An AI agent framework for Starknet, using account abstraction and autonomous contracts. Watch agents make decisions and take actions on-chain.
Step 4: Write Your Own Agent Smart Contract
- Define your agent’s job: What automated task will it do? (Receive payments, trigger actions after payment, etc.)
- Use secure libraries: OpenZeppelin Contracts for Cairo can save you from rookie mistakes.
- Follow proven patterns: Copy the pros—use examples from the above repos and “Starknet By Example” to keep your contract safe and efficient.
Step 5: Deploy on Starknet
- Compile your contract with Scarb.
- Declare and deploy using Starknet CLI or scripts from the repos.
- Fund your agent’s account with test tokens.
Step 6: Interact and Test
- Simulate transactions: Have users or other agents interact with your contract (e.g., request a service, pay automatically).
- Check the results: Use explorers like Voyager to see contract state and transactions.
- Refine your agent’s logic based on test outcomes.
Best Practices and Security Tips (Because Nobody Likes Getting Hacked)
- Audit your contracts: Before going live, get a security firm to review your code—or at least triple-check it yourself. Audits catch bugs, exploits, and vulnerabilities that could drain your funds faster than a crypto rug pull.
- Use audited libraries: Stick to well-known, audited libraries like OpenZeppelin for Cairo to avoid common pitfalls.
- Key and permission management: If your agents handle money or critical actions, keep private keys secure and permissions tight. Consider account abstraction and session keys to limit what each agent can do.
- Emergency handling: Know how to pause contracts if something goes wrong. Starknet has a Security Council that can freeze critical contracts in emergencies.
- Defend against common attacks: Protect against reentrancy, overflows, oracle manipulation, and denial-of-service attacks. Use automated analysis and testing tools.
- Transparency and monitoring: Keep clear logs and use monitoring tools to spot suspicious activity fast.
- Safe upgrades: If your contract needs updates, use upgrade mechanisms that don’t compromise security or let bad actors take over.
Useful Resources:
- Starknet Security Council – Security and emergency response for Starknet.
- QuillAudits – How to secure your Starknet smart contracts.
- Starknet AgentKit – Security best practices for AI agents on Starknet.
For More Deep Dives:
- Starknet By Example – Practical, progressive tutorials.
- Starknet Agent (GitHub) – Open-source AI agent project.
- AgentSTARK (GitHub) – Autonomous agent framework.
- OpenZeppelin Contracts for Cairo – Secure, reusable contract libraries.
> “Agentic Settlements: Because if your fridge is going to order its own groceries, it might as well pay for them, too.”
And that’s our show—see you next week, unless my agentic bot replaces me first.