Shade Agents: The First Truly Autonomous AI Agents

Autonomous AI agents are set to transform software, enabling AI to replace most user interfaces like apps, websites, and even entire businesses: they will manage financial workflows, provide services, and even coordinate hiring, all without direct oversight.

Despite their potential, most AI agents today remain centralized, custodial, or unverified, limiting their ability to securely manage assets or handle sensitive data. Some teams have attempted to mitigate this through Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), a type of secure hardware enclave, but these approaches still introduce single points of failure, either through centralized key management services or the risk of key loss within the TEE itself.

With recent advancements on NEAR, fully autonomous and verifiable AI agents are now possible.

Shade Agents

Shade Agents are multichain AI-powered smart contracts that are fully verified on-chain and designed to eliminate single points of failure. Using NEAR’s Chain Signatures for decentralized key management, Shade Agents leverage worker agents running in Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to securely access off-chain data and execute decisions using advanced AI models.

Shade Agents can:

• Sign transactions on every chain
• Custody and trade any cryptoasset
• Access off-chain LLMs, APIs, data, computation, and storage
• Enable a decentralized group of worker agents to collectively control the same key via Chain Signatures
• Preserve privacy

How They Work

Each shade agent has two components: a worker agent and a smart contract. 

Worker agents are verified off-chain components. These agents can interact with any data source, query AI models (including private LLMs), and propose transactions on any blockchain.

Anyone can run a given worker agent by building and deploying the correct codebase within a TEE, generating a unique keypair, and submitting a proof (remote attestation) by calling the shade agent’s smart contract. 

The smart contract stores the expected code hash of the worker agent. When a new worker agent instance submits a proof, the smart contract verifies the proof by checking the TEE signatures, then confirms whether the worker agent code hash is correct.

Once registered, the worker agent can propose transactions to the contract. The contract, using Chain Signatures, enables a decentralized group of worker agents to collectively control the same key, on various blockchains. 

This is extremely powerful, as it removes the risk of key loss or compromise from utilizing a single TEE.

DAOs can manage the worker agent code hash stored in the smart contract, following an upgrade protocol to update the worker agent’s AI models, off-chain computation, and data collection.

Full Autonomy

Shade agents will power autonomous applications without intermediaries. 

For developers, Shade Agents introduce intelligence to applications and protocols without requiring human intervention—whether in DeFi, social applications, or Web2 use cases that demand privacy and verification. You can build agents that manage assets, make decisions, and interact with any smart contract on any chain, while adhering to predefined rules enforced by the NEAR blockchain.

For end users, Shade Agents provide verifiable and private automation, without needing to review every agent transaction or delegate keys to a third party. Whether managing portfolios, optimizing yields, or executing tasks autonomously, users can benefit from trustless financial interactions that are more efficient, private, and secure.

Here are some examples of possible use cases for shade agents:

Mindshare Trading Agent

• Tracks mindshare metrics like Kaito
• Makes trading decisions based on model results
• Executes trades between assets on various chains: BTC, XRP, SOL, ETH, HYPE

Decentralized Solvers

• Accepts asset deposits on any chain
• Utilizes off-chain data to fulfill user intents
• Rebalances across all major DEXs, bridges, etc

Prediction Market for Anything

• Market creators define resolution criteria and sources
• Worker agents query sources, vote on resolution
• Resolves immediately, no need for challenge periods

Lending Optimizers

• Accepts asset deposits on any chain
• Matches borrow requests instantly, at better rate than any pool-based lender (by using midpoint rate between borrow and lend rates on pool-based protocols)
• Rebalances between various pool-based products to optimize both borrow and lend rates

Twitter Bet Escrow

• User can propose a bet to another user with odds
• Worker agents create a market, define resolution criteria
• Both users deposit funds into contract, worker agents resolve market

The Future of Autonomous AI

This is just the beginning. In the NEAR future, we expect to see:

• AI-driven hedge funds: autonomous AI managing billions in capital
• Agent-based DAOs: governance will move from slow, manual votes to AI-driven, real-time decision making
• Autonomous businesses: AI agents will hire, allocate capital, and operate self-sustaining organizations. 

Shade Agents introduce a new paradigm where AI-powered software can not only analyze and reason but also execute, transact, and manage assets in a fully decentralized and trustless manner.

Ready to build the future of autonomous AI? Start developing with Shade Agents today.

Build A Shade Agent 

Developer resources:

• Shade Agent docs
• GitHub template for deploying a Shade Agent
• Chain Signatures docs
• Private ML/SDK

Potential Support:

• Builder Interest Form
• Announcement of $20 million fund AI Agents by NEAR Foundation
• Strategic support from DWF for Near AI Agents

Disclaimer:
This blog post discusses concepts and potential applications of “Shade Agents” technology, which is under development. The information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, or legal advice. There is no guarantee that the described functionalities will be fully realized, and the technology may be subject to changes, updates, or even discontinuation. Trading cryptocurrencies and engaging with decentralized applications involves significant risk, including the potential loss of principal. Readers should perform their own due diligence, consult with qualified financial and legal professionals, and fully understand the risks before participating in any related activities. near.org and its affiliates disclaim any liability for losses or damages arising from reliance on the information in this blog post or the use of “Shade Agents” technology. Links to external resources are provided for convenience and do not constitute endorsement.