ANP v0.3 — Agent Notarization & Negotiation Protocol

ANP v0.3 — concept/draft specification of an open, DLT-neutral trust layer for agent-to-agent agreements, notarization, and dispute resolution.

Status: Draft (Concept) — not a final standard. v0.3 finalizes the version identity of the June 2026 review wave; the document remains a design specification with open questions explicitly marked (§16).

This release incorporates the full June 2026 review (findings #4–#30, tracker #23) and a subsequent independent Codex review pass that converged clean. Highlights vs. v0.2 (see SPEC.md Appendix C for the complete change log):

Settlement & enforcement

• Four explicit enforcement paths via outcome.basis: ruling, uncontested_assertion, mutual_settlement, formula_split (§6.2.1).
• Contract-readable dispute/enforcement state is now a Settlement-Layer MUST (§13.1), so the uncontested path can prove a dispute's absence on-chain.
• EXECUTED is gated on funded escrow (anchor-on-deposit), with optional performance bonds for penalty collateral (§7.3/§7.4).
• Mutual-settlement fast path (settle), consensual amend/rescind, and milestone/partial-performance support (§7.4/§9.4).

Envelope & integrity

• Defined signature input (proof-less signing form) vs. anchored hash coverage, with a deterministic co-signing flow (§6.3).
• Chain vs. attachment linkage classes — N-party accepts no longer fork the linear hash chain (§6.1/§7.4).
• Hash-pinned {id, hash} references for schemas, trust lists, and pools; versioned content-addressed registries (§5.4/§7.3/Appendix A).

Identity, disputes & hardening

• Anchor-time mandate verification, ex-nunc revocation, retained status-list evidence; status-list mechanism generalized (§5.3/§8.6).
• SD-JWT predicate disclosure for mandates so caps aren't leaked at verification (§5.3/§6.6).
• Grind-resistant VRF witness/arbiter selection, evidence/ruling deadlines, mandatory asserter/challenger bonds, and an authorized-writer rule against dispute-freeze griefing (§8.3/§9.2/§9.4).
• A small-claims process_profile (pre-agreed formula split, no arbiter) for micro-value Threads (§9.4).

Crypto, privacy & profile

• PQC status-gate honestly scoped (off-chain verifier semantics + optimistic on-chain enforcement); corrected quantum hash-strength levels (§6.5).
• GDPR posture corrected to pseudonymization per EDPB Guidelines 02/2025; pairwise DIDs MUST for identifiable natural persons (§12).
• Refreshed IOTA Rebased reference profile: Starfish consensus, measured anchor costs, native randomness/ECVRF, IOTA Identity PQC VC suites, realistic stablecoin denomination; IOTA Trust Framework positioned as candidate profile bindings (§13.2/§15).

Companion: DLT_EVALUATION.md (candidate-chain assessment) and USER_STORIES.md.

ANP v0.2 — Agent Notarization & Negotiation Protocol

ANP — Agent Notarization & Negotiation Protocol. First public draft (v0.2): an open, DLT-neutral trust layer for agent-to-agent contracting, notarization, and dispute resolution.

What's in v0.2

• Three pillars on a shared digital-identity foundation: Contract · Notarize · Resolve.
• Anchor, don't publish — only hashes/commitments go on-chain; payloads stay off-chain (privacy / GDPR-compatible).
• Built only on cross-platform standards — W3C DID + VC 2.0 — plus abstract ledger capabilities (anchoring, settlement). Chain-specific standards (ERC-8004 / EAS / x402) are optional interop profiles.
• Authority by mandate, not mandatory human approval (configurable Human→Agent→Agent→Human).
• Post-quantum-capable binding signatures; honest trust posture (residual trust roots named, not hidden).
• Optimistic dispute resolution with neutral arbiter selection, bonded incentives, single appeal tier.
• Reference chain: IOTA Rebased; EVM interop profile available.

Quality

Independently reviewed (Codex, 3 rounds) to internal consistency — "no Critical or Major issues remain." Open questions are explicitly marked (§16); this is a Draft / Concept, not a final standard.

Read it

📄 SPEC.md — full specification · changes in Appendix C.