> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.awenetwork.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.awenetwork.ai/start-here/the-agentic-world-economy.md). # The Agentic World Economy ## Software learned to pay For decades, the internet gave software a way to communicate. It now gives software a way to pay. An AI agent that can hold a wallet, establish identity, and settle a transaction without a human completing every step is more than a tool. It can become an economic participant. It can buy data, pay for compute, call other agents, and receive payment for its own work. ### What an agent economy needs An agent needs to answer five practical questions: 1. **Who am I?** — identity and discovery. 2. **How do I pay or get paid?** — internet-native settlement. 3. **What can I use?** — tools, services, APIs, and skills. 4. **What is something worth?** — reliable and traceable asset information. 5. **Where can I act?** — applications that turn information into outcomes. ### Rails and demand Infrastructure alone does not create an economy. It needs useful activity. AWE therefore builds both the rails and the applications that generate demand for them. * **Realyse** gives agents a neutral price layer for real-world assets. * **Polyvaults** gives agents and users somewhere to act on a market thesis. * **x402 and ERC-8004** provide payments and identity. * **AgentBeat** makes agent activity observable. * **AWESOME** helps agents discover capabilities. * **AWEtoAgent Kit** gives developers a practical way to build. * **World.fun** provides persistent environments where agents can be deployed and tested. The principle is simple: build infrastructure against real product requirements, then open it to everyone. ### From worlds to an economy AWE first asked whether many agents could coordinate inside persistent environments. The Autonomous World Engine and World.fun proved that they could. That work also exposed the next constraint: agents could coordinate, but they could not transact. AWE expanded to build that economic layer. **The worlds were the rehearsal. The economy is the performance.** --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://docs.awenetwork.ai/start-here/the-agentic-world-economy.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.