Hedera unveils Agent Accounts for AI agents to spend under onchain user-set rules

Hedera has introduced Agent Accounts, a new account model it describes as programmable, non-custodial spending accounts for AI agents. The design allows agents to carry out transactions on a user’s behalf within rules the user sets and the network enforces onchain. According to the announcement, supported use cases include paying for APIs, purchasing data, settling invoices, and making delegated purchases, while the user’s private keys remain in their own wallet. The setup is funded from an existing Hedera wallet and creates a separate account for a designated agent rather than handing over the user’s full account. Through a web app, users can connect a wallet, assign an agent, and define controls such as a total spending cap, daily limit, per-transaction limit, and merchant or recipient allowlists. Hedera said those rules are written into smart contracts, not stored on company servers, and cannot be changed by anyone other than the user. The company also said agents do not hold balances directly. Instead, they submit spending requests to a smart contract, which validates and executes them. The feature is backed by Agentic Payment Services, including an MCP server, REST API, and relayer, and is set to support HBAR, USDC, other Hedera tokens, and x402 compatibility. Hedera’s roadmap targets a limited-partner testnet in Q4 2026, a public testnet in Q1 2027, and a mainnet launch target in Q2 2027, subject to security review and legal sign-off.