# Vaultfire Trust Framework — Whitepaper Repository


> **⚠️ Alpha Protocol** — Vaultfire Protocol is in active development. Smart contracts are deployed on mainnet but have **not been formally audited** by a third-party security firm. This whitepaper describes the current architecture and vision — implementation details, scoring formulas, and governance mechanisms may evolve. Market data and competitive comparisons reflect publicly available information as of April 2026. This document is not financial or investment advice.

> **"Trust is not claimed. It is staked, verified, and portable."**

**Author:** Vaultfire Protocol (Ghostkey316)
**Version:** 1.0 | April 2026
**License:** MIT

---

## What Is This?

This repository contains the definitive documentation for the **Vaultfire Trust Framework** — the first protocol to combine on-chain agent identity, economic accountability bonds, and cross-chain trust verification for the AI agent economy.

The Vaultfire Trust Framework is the infrastructure layer that makes AI agents economically accountable. Not just scored. Accountable.

---

## Documents

| File | Description | Audience |
|---|---|---|
| [`VAULTFIRE_TRUST_FRAMEWORK.md`](./VAULTFIRE_TRUST_FRAMEWORK.md) | Full technical whitepaper (~5,000 words) | CTOs, CISOs, Protocol Architects, Standards Bodies |
| [`EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.md`](./EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.md) | 1-page summary for decision-makers | VCs, Executives, Busy Practitioners |
| [`README.md`](./README.md) | This file | Everyone |

---

## How to Read the Whitepaper

The whitepaper is structured as a logical argument, not just a technical spec:

1. **Start with Sections 1–3** if you need to understand *why* the agent economy has an accountability problem and why existing solutions fall short.

2. **Read Section 4** for the complete technical architecture of the Vaultfire framework — identity, bonds, reputation, scoring, and cross-chain trust.

3. **Skip to Section 6** if you want the game-theoretic case for why economic bonds are structurally superior to reputation scores.

4. **Section 7** covers standards alignment (ERC-8004, A2A, CSA, NIST) — essential reading for compliance and interoperability teams.

5. **Appendix C** is the fastest way to understand Vaultfire's competitive positioning — a full feature comparison matrix.

If you have fewer than 10 minutes, read [`EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.md`](./EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.md).

---

## Core Thesis

> Current trust approaches — centralized registries, reputation scores, API keys — are insufficient for an economy where agents transact autonomously with real money.
>
> Scores are backward-looking. They tell you what an agent has done; they impose no cost for what it might do.
>
> **Bonds are forward-looking.** When real collateral is locked against behavioral commitments, the agent and its operator have a material financial stake in good behavior. Bad behavior triggers automated slashing. Good behavior compounds into verifiable, portable trust.
>
> This is the Vaultfire principle: skin in the game, on-chain, across every chain the agent economy runs on.

---

## Protocol Overview

### Five Core Differentiators

| Differentiator | Description |
|---|---|
| **AI Accountability Bonds** | Real collateral posted against behavioral commitments. Automated slashing for violations. No other protocol has this. |
| **AI Partnership Bonds** | Mutual economic stakes between human operators and AI agents. Bilateral commitment, not just attestation. |
| **Street Cred Scoring** | Deterministic 0–95 trust score derived from on-chain state. Not a model. Not a committee. Math. |
| **Cross-Chain from Day One** | 4 mainnet chains at launch (Base, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Polygon). Trust earned on one chain is portable to all. |
| **Belief-Weighted Governance** | First in the industry. Voting weight = f(trust demonstrated), not f(tokens held). |

### Street Cred Score Breakdown

| Component | Max Points |
|---|---|
| Identity Registered | 30 |
| Has Bond | 25 |
| Bond Active | 15 |
| Bond Tier Bonus | 20 |
| Multiple Bonds | 5 |
| **Total** | **95** |

**Tiers:** None (0) → Bronze (1–30) → Silver (31–55) → Gold (56–75) → Platinum (76–95)

---

## SDK Ecosystem

Install the core SDK:

```bash
npm install @vaultfire/agent-sdk
```

### Published Packages

| Package | Version | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| [`@vaultfire/agent-sdk`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@vaultfire/agent-sdk) | v0.1.0 | Core: identity, bonds, reputation, Street Cred |
| [`@vaultfire/langchain`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@vaultfire/langchain) | v1.0.0 | LangChain & LangGraph integration |
| [`@vaultfire/a2a`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@vaultfire/a2a) | v1.0.1 | Google A2A Agent Card enrichment |
| [`@vaultfire/x402`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@vaultfire/x402) | v1.0.0 | HTTP 402 payment protocol integration |
| [`@vaultfire/xmtp`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@vaultfire/xmtp) | v1.0.0 | XMTP messaging protocol integration |
| [`@vaultfire/vns`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@vaultfire/vns) | v1.0.0 | Vaultfire Name Service resolution |

---

## Ecosystem Integrations

| Integration | Package | Ecosystem Reach |
|---|---|---|
| LangChain / LangGraph | `@vaultfire/langchain` | 34.5M monthly downloads |
| Google A2A Protocol | `@vaultfire/a2a` | 150+ adopting organizations |
| XMTP Messaging | `@vaultfire/xmtp` | Cross-chain messaging standard |
| HTTP 402 Payments | `@vaultfire/x402` | Agentic micropayments |

---

## Deployed Contracts

### Base (Chain ID: 8453) — Primary Hub

| Contract | Address |
|---|---|
| Identity Registry | `0x35978DB675576598F0781dA2133E94cdCf4858bC` |
| Partnership Bonds | `0x01C479F0c039fEC40c0Cf1c5C921bab457d57441` |
| Accountability Bonds | `0x6750D28865434344e04e1D0a6044394b726C3dfE` |
| Reputation Registry | `0xdB54B8925664816187646174bdBb6Ac658A55a5F` |
| Bridge | `0x94F54c849692Cc64C35468D0A87D2Ab9D7Cb6Fb2` |
| VNS | `0x1437c4081233A4f0B6907dDf5374Ed610cBD6B25` |

Full contract addresses for all four chains are in [Appendix A of the whitepaper](./VAULTFIRE_TRUST_FRAMEWORK.md#appendix-a-contract-addresses).

---

## Standards Alignment

| Standard | Status |
|---|---|
| ERC-8004 (On-Chain Agent Identity) | Full compliance + extensions |
| Google A2A (Agent-to-Agent Protocol) | Trust enrichment via `@vaultfire/a2a` |
| CSA Agentic Trust Framework (2026) | Maps to all five pillars |
| NIST AI Risk Management Framework | Covers Govern, Map, Measure, Manage |

---

## Quick Start

```javascript
import { VaultfireClient } from '@vaultfire/agent-sdk';

const vaultfire = new VaultfireClient({ chain: 'base' });

// Register an agent
await vaultfire.identity.register({
  agentURI: "https://myagent.com/agent-card.json",
  agentType: "autonomous",
  capabilities: ["web-search", "code-execution"]
});

// Create an accountability bond (1 ETH collateral)
await vaultfire.bonds.createAccountability({
  value: "1.0", // ETH
  commitments: ["no-unauthorized-access", "human-escalation-threshold"]
});

// Query trust score
const score = await vaultfire.streetCred.get(agentAddress);
console.log(`Street Cred: ${score.score}/95 (${score.tier})`);
```

---

## Contact & Resources

| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| GitHub | [github.com/Ghostkey316/](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/) |
| Hub | [theloopbreaker.com](https://theloopbreaker.com) |
| Email | ghostkey316@proton.me |
| License | MIT |

---

## Mission

> **Morals over metrics. Privacy over surveillance. Freedom over control.**
> Making human thriving more profitable than extraction.

The Vaultfire Trust Framework is open source, permissionless, and aligned with the interests of the humans the agent economy serves.

---

*Vaultfire Protocol | April 2026 | Version 1.0*

## Vaultfire Ecosystem

| Package | Description |
|---|---|
| [`@vaultfire/agent-sdk`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-sdk) | Core SDK — register agents, create bonds, query reputation |
| [`@vaultfire/langchain`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-langchain) | LangChain / LangGraph integration |
| [`@vaultfire/a2a`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-a2a) | Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol bridge |
| [`@vaultfire/enterprise`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-enterprise) | Enterprise IAM bridge (Okta, Azure AD, OIDC) |
| [`@vaultfire/mcp-server`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-mcp-server) | MCP server for Claude, Copilot, Cursor |
| [`@vaultfire/openai-agents`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-openai-agents) | OpenAI Agents SDK integration |
| [`@vaultfire/vercel-ai`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-vercel-ai) | Vercel AI SDK middleware and tools |
| [`@vaultfire/xmtp`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-xmtp) | XMTP messaging with trust verification |
| [`@vaultfire/x402`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-x402) | X402 payment protocol with trust gates |
| [`@vaultfire/vns`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-vns) | Vaultfire Name Service — human-readable agent IDs |
| [`vaultfire-crewai`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-crewai) | CrewAI integration (Python) |
| [`vaultfire-agents`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-agents) | 3 reference agents with live on-chain trust |
| [`vaultfire-a2a-trust-extension`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-a2a-trust-extension) | A2A Trust Extension spec — on-chain trust for Agent Cards |
| [`vaultfire-showcase`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-showcase) | Why Vaultfire Bonds beat trust scores — live proof |
| [`vaultfire-whitepaper`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-whitepaper) | **This package** — Trust Framework whitepaper — economic accountability for AI |
| [`vaultfire-docs`](https://github.com/Ghostkey316/vaultfire-docs) | Developer portal — quickstart, playground, framework picker |
