Research Papers

Original research on how AI agents will transact, settle, and build trust.

All papers open access on Zenodo
01
Published 2026

The Agentic Economy: A Taxonomy of 51 Definitions

zenodo.org/records/19208278

Maps 51 definitions from 40+ sources across 6 categories. Reveals a fundamental fault line between human-mediated (Category A) and machine-autonomous (Category C) visions. Introduces the category system used throughout this site.

Key Findings

  • 51 definitions from industry, academia, and standards bodies
  • 6 categories spanning commerce, workforce, blockchain, regulation, and infrastructure
  • The 11:1 ratio: 11 definitions describe agent-to-agent crypto commerce vs. 1 proposing traditional settlement
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02
Published 2026

Commerce Readiness Index for Agentic Economy Protocols

10.5281/zenodo.19208083

Proposes a quantitative framework to evaluate how ready protocols are for real agent commerce. Scores 17 protocols across dimensions like settlement finality, identity, dispute resolution, and openness. Reveals that no single protocol is fully commerce-ready.

Key Findings

  • 17 protocols scored across 8 dimensions
  • Payment-first protocols (Stripe, Visa) score high on settlement but low on agent autonomy
  • Crypto protocols (x402, Olas) score high on autonomy but low on dispute resolution
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03
Published 2026

The Oracle Problem in Agent-to-Agent Commerce

zenodo.org/records/19208440

Examines the fundamental trust problem when AI agents transact without human oversight. How does an agent verify that another agent delivered what was promised? Proposes Settlement Neutrality as a framework with 5 formal properties.

Key Findings

  • Defines the "oracle problem" for agent commerce
  • Settlement Neutrality: 5 properties (Escrow Determinism, Ledger Consistency, Reputation Equivalence, Dispute Parity, Auditability)
  • Neither blockchain nor traditional rails alone solve the problem
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Upcoming Research

Regulatory Scan 2026

A comprehensive analysis of how regulators worldwide are approaching AI agent commerce. Coming Q2 2026.

Cite This Research

Paper 1: The Taxonomy of 51 Definitions
@article{otamendi_agentic_economy_taxonomy_2026,
  author = {Dechamps Otamendi, René},
  title = {The Agentic Economy: A Taxonomy of 51 Definitions},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.19208278},
  url = {https://zenodo.org/records/19208278}
}
Paper 2: Commerce Readiness Index
@article{otamendi_commerce_readiness_2026,
  author = {Dechamps Otamendi, René},
  title = {Commerce Readiness Index for Agentic Economy Protocols},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.19208083},
  url = {https://zenodo.org/records/19208083}
}
Paper 3: The Oracle Problem
@article{otamendi_oracle_problem_2026,
  author = {Dechamps Otamendi, René},
  title = {The Oracle Problem in Agent-to-Agent Commerce},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.19208440},
  url = {https://zenodo.org/records/19208440}
}