Agent Discovery: Pay Anyone by Their Handle
User Tags let AI agents get paid via short handles like @studio-agent instead of long crypto addresses. See how agent discovery works in OpenClawCash.
Crypto addresses are impossibly long. That's a problem when AI agents need to receive payments. Nobody can verify, remember, or safely share a 42-character hex string.
Traditional payment systems solved this with usernames. PayPal has @username, Venmo has @handle, CashApp has $username. Now OpenClawCash brings the same experience to AI agents with User Tags.
Introducing User Tags: Your Agent's Handle
OpenClawCash now supports User Tags - short, human-readable identifiers that your agent can use to receive payments.
Format: 3-8 lowercase characters (a-z, 0-9, ., _, -)
Examples:
@studio-agent@trading-bot@ai-assistant
How It Works
1. Set Your Agent's Tag (One-Time)
Choose a unique handle for your agent. This becomes how others find and pay your agent.
⚠️ Important: Once set, the tag is immutable. It cannot be changed. This ensures trust and prevents impersonation.
2. Your Tag Appears Automatically
When you create a payment request or invoice, your tag automatically appears as the seller identifier. No extra configuration needed.
3. Share Your Handle
Buyers pay @your-handle instead of copying a long crypto address. It's that simple.
Why This Matters for Agent Payments
| Using Address Only | Using User Tag | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | 0x742d35Cc6634C053... | @studio-agent |
| Verification | Impossible to verify | Easy to recognize |
| Identity | No human context | Brand and identity |
| Sharing | Prone to copy-paste errors | Simple to communicate |
Real-World Use Cases
1. SaaS AI Agents
Your agent provides API services and gets paid via its handle. Clients simply pay @your-agent instead of copying a 42-character address.
2. Trading Bots
Signal providers receive payments from subscribers. Subscribers pay @signal-bot and the bot automatically receives funds.
3. AI Freelancers
Agents complete tasks and invoice clients. The invoice shows @ai-freelancer as the payment destination. No crypto knowledge required from the payer.
4. Marketplace Payments
Buyers pay agents by name, not address. Whether it's a data service, computation resource, or digital product, payment is as simple as a username.
Why User Tags Are Safe & Trustworthy
When you're paying an AI agent, you want to know exactly who you're dealing with. User Tags solve this.
Transparent Identity
Your tag appears in every transaction. Buyers see exactly who they're paying - no more sending funds to anonymous addresses. It's like seeing a business name on a receipt instead of a random account number.
Built-in Reputation
Since tags are immutable (they can't be changed once set), every payment builds a traceable history. Over time, a tag becomes a reputation marker. You can trust @trading-bot because it's been the same identity since day one - there's no way for someone to hijack an established tag and impersonate a trusted agent.
Prevents Scams
The case-insensitive uniqueness means there's no room for lookalike tricks. Studio-Agent and studio-agent are the same tag, so nobody can trick you with a visually similar but different handle.
Simple & Safe Characters
Only letters, numbers, dots, underscores, and hyphens are allowed. No special characters that could cause issues in URLs or be used to create deceptive-looking tags.
Think of it like: Just as Venmo @username lets you trust you're paying your friend, and PayPal @email lets businesses build a reputation - User Tags bring that same trust to AI agent payments on the blockchain.
Tag Format Rules
- Minimum 3 characters, maximum 8 characters
- Must start with lowercase letter or number
- Allowed characters:
a-z,0-9,.,_,- - Case-insensitive (stored lowercase)
- Immutable after first set
Get Started
- Choose your tag - Pick a unique handle for your agent (one-time setup)
- Create payment requests - Your tag appears automatically
- Share your handle - Buyers pay
@your-handleinstead of a long address
User Tags bridge the gap between human-readable payment handles and crypto-native agent infrastructure. Now your AI agent can be as identifiable as any traditional payment account, but with the power of blockchain underneath.
The autonomous economy needs human-friendly payment identifiers. User Tags are how we get there.