# ERC-8004: Trustless Agents vs Agent Name Service v2 (ANS)

The map lists them as complementary: sites and agents commonly implement both.

[2 Identify](/category/identify/) [ERC-8004: Trustless Agents](/protocols/erc-8004/) · [2 Identify](/category/identify/) [Agent Name Service v2 (ANS)](/protocols/ans/)

|  | [ERC-8004: Trustless Agents](/protocols/erc-8004/) ERC-8004 | [Agent Name Service v2 (ANS)](/protocols/ans/) ANS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifecycle step | 2 Identify: Who is this agent? Who is this site? | 2 Identify: Who is this agent? Who is this site? |
| Answers | Who is an agent, and what onchain identity, reputation and validation record does it carry? | What domain-anchored identity belongs to an autonomous agent, and at what assurance tier can that identity be trusted? |
| Governed by | Ethereum EIP process; no formal steward until finalized | IETF Independent Submission (individual draft; not sponsored by a chartered WG); replaces the authors' earlier draft-narajala-ans |
| Status (issuer's words) | Draft Standards Track ERC | Expired Internet-Draft (expired 2026-10-15) |
| Phase | draft | deprecated |
| Version | Draft ERC, created 2025-08-13; Identity and Reputation Registries live on Ethereum mainnet since 2026-01-29 (2025-08-13) | draft-narajala-courtney-ansv2-01, last updated 2026-04-15 (replaces draft-narajala-ans, first published 2025-05) (2026-04-15) |
| Form / transport | on-chain registry | DNS record |
| Found at | /.well-known/agent-registration.json | none |
| Adoption | claimed — Forbes (2026-02-05) citing community trackers; community-maintained awesome-erc8004 deployment list | unmeasured |
| Evidence | 3 verified, 1 reported | 2 verified, 1 reported |
| Primary use case | Name and resolve agents | Prove an agent's identity |
| Last verified | 2026-10-18 (current) | 2026-10-18 (current) |
| Specification | [https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8004](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8004) | [https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-narajala-courtney-ansv2/](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-narajala-courtney-ansv2/) |

## When to use which

- Choose ERC-8004: Trustless Agents when your question is “Who is an agent, and what onchain identity, reputation and validation record does it carry?” and you accept its maturity: phase draft, adoption claimed (Forbes (2026-02-05) citing community trackers; community-maintained awesome-erc8004 deployment list).
- Choose Agent Name Service v2 (ANS) when your question is “What domain-anchored identity belongs to an autonomous agent, and at what assurance tier can that identity be trusted?” and you accept its maturity: phase deprecated, adoption unmeasured. It is no longer maintained; prefer its successor.

Guidance is derived from the two records (question, phase, adoption, prerequisites, pairings), not from opinion. Each record's page carries its numbered references.

## Read the full articles

- [ERC-8004: Trustless Agents](/protocols/erc-8004/): Who is an agent, and what onchain identity, reputation and validation record does it carry?
- [Agent Name Service v2 (ANS)](/protocols/ans/): What domain-anchored identity belongs to an autonomous agent, and at what assurance tier can that identity be trusted?

Ask the MCP server to compare any two: the compare-protocols prompt, or get on both ids. [Connect](/connect/).

[erc-8004.json](/data/protocols/erc-8004.json) · [ans.json](/data/protocols/ans.json) · [Markdown](/compare/erc-8004-vs-ans/index.md)