Balancing Autonomy, Control, and Compliance in AI Agent Architectures

In the rapidly evolving landscape of blockchain-based AI agents, non-custodial security and developer control aren’t just nice-to-haves—they’re existential requirements. This article presents a wallet architecture that maximizes (1) security, (2) autonomous operations, (3) compliance and (4) ease of use.


Why This Matters

AI agent platforms like launchpads face a critical dilemma:
- How to let agents act autonomously without giving platforms custodial control (i.e. not taking the risk if something went wrong) - How to retain end-developer control without compromising security

This solution solves both, future-proofing platforms against regulatory scrutiny while empowering developers.

The Challenge

Agent launchpads face a unique set of requirements that traditional wallet architectures don't fully address. These platforms need to:

  1. Enable agent creators to deploy one or multiple agents
  2. Provide seamless fund management (onramp/offramp)
  3. Support autonomous on-chain operations
  4. Maintain non-custodial control (ensuring the launchpad cannot control agents' wallets or funds)
  5. Handle gas sponsorship

Proposed Architecture: Dual Keys + Trusted Enclaves

Core Components

The architecture centers around smart contract wallets with a dual-key system:

1) Smart Contract Wallet

2) Dual-Key System

Why Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)?

TEEs (like Intel SGX) create hardware-isolated enclaves where:
1. Keys are secured: Encrypted in memory, inaccessible to host
2. Logic is protected: Agent code runs in verified environments
3. Compliance is built-in: No platform access = no custodial risk

Battle-tested platforms:
- Phala Network
- Lit Protocol (TEE + MPC)
- Marlin Protocol

Key Management

Admin Key

The admin key represents the developer's ultimate control over the wallet. It can be implemented through various mechanisms:

The crucial aspect is that this key remains exclusively under developer control, never touching the launchpad's infrastructure.

Agent Key

The agent key enables autonomous operations and requires special handling:

TEE Implementation

The Trusted Execution Environment is critical for maintaining non-custodial status. Key requirements include:

1) Complete Control Loop Encapsulation

2) Example TEE Platforms

Security Considerations

Maintaining non-custodial status is crucial both for security and regulatory compliance. Non-custodial control means that the launchpad platform cannot access or control the funds in agents' wallets. This is essential not only for security but also for regulatory compliance, as controlling user funds would require costly money transmitter licenses in jurisdictions like the United States.

To ensure non-custodial operation, several security measures must be implemented:

1) Prompt Isolation

2) Action Mapping

3) Key Segregation

Conclusion

This architecture provides a robust foundation for building non-custodial agent launchpads. By carefully implementing the dual-key system within a TEE environment, platforms can offer autonomous agent operations while maintaining security and developer control.

Remember that this architecture should be treated as a blueprint and adapted to specific platform requirements while maintaining the core principles of non-custodial control and secure autonomous operation.

Comparison with Alternative Architectures

While designing this architecture, we evaluated several alternative approaches. Here's an analysis of their trade-offs:

A. Server-Side Key Storage with Environment Variables

This approach involves storing wallet keys as environment variables in agent servers running on centralized computing platforms like AWS.

Key Issues:

B. Server-Side Key Management Solutions

Using solutions like Fireblocks, Turnkey, or Privy server wallets.

Analysis:

C. Single TEE-Based Key Architecture

Creating a single key for the wallet inside a TEE (like Lit Protocol or Marlin Network).

Limitations:

D. TEE with Pre-authorized Control

Implementing approach C with a pre-authorized wallet backdoor in the TEE code.

Concerns:

Why Alternatives Fail

Approach Custodial Risk Developer Control Compliance
Env variable keys High None
Server keys High Limited
Single TEE Key Low Hard
Proposed Architecture None Full

Key flaws in alternatives:
- Server-side storage: Platforms hold API keys = custodial
- Single TEE key: Developers lose post-deployment control
- Pre-authorized backdoors: Creates attack surfaces

Our proposed dual-key architecture provides the optimal balance of security, control, and regulatory compliance while avoiding the pitfalls of these alternative approaches. It maintains non-custodial status while giving developers appropriate control over their agents. And it is built entirely on top of open source industry standards, minimizing lock in and future-proofing to future technology updates.