DIAP: A Decentralized Agent Identity Protocol with Zero-Knowledge Proofs and a Hybrid P2P Stack

2025-11-06

AI Summary

Decentralized computing lacks a fully decentralized, verifiable, and privacy-preserving communication protocol for autonomous agents. Existing solutions either rely on centralized intermediaries—introducing trust bottlenecks—or lack decentralized identity resolution, hindering persistence and cross-network interoperability. Method: We propose the first zero-dependency ZKP deployment model: anchoring DID-Keys to IPFS/IPNS content identifiers for persistent, cross-network interoperability; embedding precompiled Noir circuits and build-time scripts to eliminate external toolchain dependencies and enable stateless, dynamic identity verification. The protocol integrates zero-knowledge proofs, Libp2p GossipSub, and QUIC-based Iroh data exchange within a Rust-based hybrid P2P architecture. Results: Experiments demonstrate millisecond-scale identity verification, significantly improving scalability, security, and agent-to-agent (A2A) economic viability.

Technology Category

• Multiagent Systems: Agent Communication
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Agent Architectures
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Representing, Reasoning, and Using Provenance, Trust

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Decentralized Web and Fediverse systems
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems
• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance

Abstract

The absence of a fully decentralized, verifiable, and privacy-preserving communication protocol for autonomous agents remains a core challenge in decentralized computing. Existing systems often rely on centralized intermediaries, which reintroduce trust bottlenecks, or lack decentralized identity-resolution mechanisms, limiting persistence and cross-network interoperability. We propose the Decentralized Interstellar Agent Protocol (DIAP), a novel framework for agent identity and communication that enables persistent, verifiable, and trustless interoperability in fully decentralized environments. DIAP binds an agent's identity to an immutable IPFS or IPNS content identifier and uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) to dynamically and statelessly prove ownership, removing the need for record updates. We present a Rust SDK that integrates Noir (for zero-knowledge proofs), DID-Key, IPFS, and a hybrid peer-to-peer stack combining Libp2p GossipSub for discovery and Iroh for high-performance, QUIC based data exchange. DIAP introduces a zero-dependency ZKP deployment model through a universal proof manager and compile-time build script that embeds a precompiled Noir circuit, eliminating the need for external ZKP toolchains. This enables instant, verifiable, and privacy-preserving identity proofs. This work establishes a practical, high-performance foundation for next-generation autonomous agent ecosystems and agent-to-agent (A to A) economies.

Problem

• Lack of decentralized verifiable communication protocols for autonomous agents
• Existing systems rely on centralized intermediaries creating trust bottlenecks
• Missing decentralized identity mechanisms limiting cross-network interoperability

Innovation

• Decentralized agent identity protocol using zero-knowledge proofs
• Hybrid P2P stack combining GossipSub discovery and Iroh data exchange
• Zero-dependency ZKP deployment with precompiled Noir circuits