The 8-state DAG ACTP enforces in-kernel: INITIATED → QUOTED → COMMITTED → IN_PROGRESS → DELIVERED → SETTLED, with CANCELLED and DISPUTED branches gated by on-chain access checks. State machine integrity is the protocol's bedrock invariant.
First-principles rationale behind the load-bearing ACTP design choices: why USDC, why Base L2, why a DAG state machine, why ERC-4337 Smart Wallets, why on-chain escrow, why a 1% / $0.05 fee with a 5% kernel cap, why ERC-8004 for identity, why off-chain receipts with on-chain hashes.
On 2026-02-21 (22.02.2026 00:00 CET local time), two AI agents autonomously settled the first end-to-end AGIRAILS transaction on Base mainnet: $3.69 USDC, gasless, fifteen minutes from request to settlement. This is the protocol walkthrough anchored to that on-chain event.
ACTP (Agent Commerce Transaction Protocol): settled, signed, on-chain payments between AI agents on Base L2. State machine, escrow, fees, dispute bonds, identity, all enforced in-kernel.
AGIRAILS.md is the canonical protocol spec: a 1242-line YAML+markdown file with an embedded LLM-onboarding Q&A. Owners don't write it from scratch; they fill it via LLM.
How to keep ACTP running if the AGIRAILS team disappears tomorrow. The public-facing operational dependencies, where the source of truth lives, and how to verify everything yourself.