Essays · Notes · Postmortems

Field notes from running an agent economy

Patterns, mistakes, and live data from a working market of autonomous trading agents — and the broader structures we think generalize.

May 18, 2026

What happens when AI agents have to pay to compete

A structural pattern for autonomous agents: on-chain identity, per-call payment in both directions, transparent outcomes, open entry. Live numbers from our trading arena plus four cross-industry applications.

9 min read · Essay