Trust, but Cap It: How We Gave Our Agents Wallet Allowances on Arc

Description and use

Agents now have wallets with spending envelopes that prevent transactions exceeding set limits, providing instant denials, audit trails, and alerts.

Problem

Agents need funded wallets that are safe to use at night, preventing overspending while maintaining auditability and alerts.

Outcome

Agents can now operate with capped spending envelopes that deny transactions before they are constructed, eliminating gas costs and mempool delays, while providing instant alerts and audit logs.

Workflow

• Register wallet address with AgentBadge
• Attach envelope with perTxUsd, dailyUsd, etc.
• Reserve amount on transaction request
• If reserve succeeds, attempt to settle; on success record txHash
• If settle fails, release reserved amount
• Monitor alerts: cap_denied, failed, release_late, low_balance

Evidence

agent wallets with spending envelopes — every payment an agent makes through AgentBadge runs under per-transaction, daily, weekly, and monthly caps, with a full audit trail and alerts.

Source

The envelope denies before a transaction is constructed.

Source

Reserve — the amount earmarks against the window on arrival; concurrent requests can't overspend the same budget.

Source