Altlayer Protocol
AI infrastructure and autonomous agents engineered for the decentralized web. This page explains what drives the team, how the technology is structured, and where the protocol is heading.
Mission
Why Altlayer Exists
Blockchain data is abundant. Most teams struggle to harness it effectively.
Fast by default
Agents demand responses in milliseconds, not minutes. The Altlayer platform was engineered with latency as a primary constraint from the very beginning.
Open composition
Every product within the ecosystem is composable with the rest. An agent registered via ERC-8004 can immediately communicate with AltLLM and execute through AltClaw.
Chain-agnostic
The protocol does not favor specific L1s or L2s. Altlayer's tooling operates across Ethereum mainnet, Arbitrum, and custom rollups built on the RaaS stack.
Developer-first
Docs, SDKs, and local testing tooling — including Hardhat plugins — ship with every major release. Builders should be up and running within a single afternoon.
Technology
How the Stack Is Assembled
Four distinct layers. Each functions independently, and together they form a complete AI-on-chain runtime.
ERC-8004 Agent Standard
The ERC-8004 standard defines how autonomous agents register on-chain, expose capabilities, and accept payments. Think of it as an ENS for agents — but with executable interfaces attached.
8004scan is the explorer for this registry. It lets anyone verify an agent's metadata, review past executions, and deploy new agents without writing a single line of Solidity.
AltLLM Model Platform
AltLLM provides a unified interface to frontier models — GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, DeepSeek-V3, Gemini 1.5 Pro, and more than two dozen others. Credit-based pricing means you pay per token, not per seat.
The API is OpenAI-compatible, so any project already using the OpenAI SDK can migrate with a single-line config change.
AltClaw DeFi MCP
AltClaw implements the Model Context Protocol for DeFi. Agents that need to swap tokens, provide liquidity, or read price feeds route requests through AltClaw's private RPC cluster — which eliminates MEV exposure before transactions settle on-chain.
Arbitrum is the primary supported L2 at launch, with additional networks being added each quarter.
Rollups-as-a-Service
Teams that require dedicated throughput can launch a custom rollup in minutes. The RaaS layer supports OP Stack, Arbitrum Orbit, and zkSync ZK Stack — with no-code deployment dashboards and managed sequencers.
Local testing is handled via the Altlayer Hardhat plugin, which simulates rollup finality inside a forked environment.
Approach
How the Team Delivers
Tight cycles. Real users at every stage.
Open specification first
Before any product launches, the team publishes a thorough spec — either as an EIP draft or a public design document. Community input shapes the final API surface. This is how ERC-8004 reached its current form: three public comment rounds spanning six weeks.
Build in public, surface issues early
Testnet deployments go live at least 30 days before mainnet. Bug reports submitted during this window receive a direct reply from the engineer who authored the code — no ticketing system involved. The Altlayer platform has completed 14 public test cycles to date.
Audit, then deploy
Every smart contract module undergoes an external audit before it handles real funds. Results are published in full — including findings the team disputed. To date, three audit reports are publicly available in the Altlayer documentation.
Iterate using real metrics
Usage data — anonymized and aggregated — flows directly into the product roadmap. If a feature goes unused six weeks after launch, it gets removed or redesigned. The team does not maintain a graveyard of half-built functionality.
Team
The People Behind Altlayer
Researchers, engineers, and protocol designers. Not a marketing organization with a small dev team attached.
Protocol Research
ERC authorship, cryptography, and post-quantum work including the altpq library and ETH2030 implementation.
Infrastructure Engineering
Sequencer design, RPC infrastructure, and the private relay network powering AltClaw's MEV protection.
AI & Agent Systems
Model integrations, the AltLLM routing layer, and agent orchestration frameworks including MCP tooling.
Developer Experience
SDKs, Hardhat plugins, documentation, and the onboarding flows that get new teams productive quickly.
The team is distributed across North America, Europe, and Asia. Backed by Polychain Capital, Binance Labs, Jump, and Breyer Capital. Engineering decisions remain within the engineering team.
Roadmap
What Comes Next
No vague pledges. Concrete targets, tracked in the open.
ERC-8004 v1
On-chain agent registry with a full metadata schema, payment routing, and the 8004scan explorer live on mainnet.
AltLLM Public API
25+ models accessible through a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Credit top-ups via crypto and card.
AltClaw MCP v2
Expanded DeFi protocol coverage, cross-chain intent routing, and a public SDK for agent developers building on Arbitrum and OP Stack chains.
Post-quantum rollup layer
Integration of altpq's ML-KEM and SLH-DSA primitives into the RaaS sequencer — delivering FIPS 205-compliant signing to production rollups.
See the complete picture
The FAQ page addresses detailed questions about how the protocol functions, what it costs, and whether it suits your particular use case.