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The Collaboration Layer: Inter-Agent Protocols (Part 2).
From Blockchain Dreams to Self-Evolving Protocols: The Specialists and Innovators.
Gabriel Botsie
August 13, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes
AI Agent Protocols.
Last week we covered the main players in inter-agent communication.
This week, the specialists, the blockchain believers, and one genuinely fascinating innovation.
AITP: The Blockchain Approach
NEAR Foundation's protocol focuses on secure transactions between agents across "trust boundaries." Think agents autonomously negotiating and paying for services from other organisations.
The Reality Check:
Blockchain dependency adds complexity and costs
As Laurie Voss noted: "blockchain has not solved any problems so far"
Recommendation: Proceed with extreme caution!
Cisco's AConP: The Infrastructure Play
Cisco brings networking expertise to agent protocols, focusing on the entire agent lifecycle:
Discovery
Launching
Management
Distributed registry for finding agents
Business Assessment:
Comprehensive but complex
Limited differentiation from other enterprise protocols
Agora: The Innovation Standout
Oxford University's approach is genuinely fascinating. Instead of fixed protocols, Agora starts with natural language and lets agents dynamically negotiate better communication methods.
How It Works:
Agents begin talking in plain English
Either participant can propose upgrading to a more formal protocol for specific tasks
The protocol literally evolves itself
Why This Matters:
Maximum flexibility
Agents adapt their communication to the situation rather than being locked into pre-programmed formats
Current Status: Mostly conceptual, but the idea of self-upgrading protocols could be transformative.
LMOS: The Enterprise Integration
Comprehensive framework for "Internet of Agents" with strong IoT focus. Designed for large-scale, heterogeneous enterprise environments.
Good For: Complex multi-system environments requiring agent integration with existing infrastructure.
Agent Protocol: The Operations Focus
Simple, framework-agnostic standard for controlling and monitoring agents. Think standardised start/stop/monitor operations across different platforms.
Assessment: Limited scope but useful for operations teams managing multiple agent deployments.
Three Distinct Emerging Approaches
Enterprise-Focused (A2A, LMOS):
Better security
Limited to internal networks
Internet-Scale (ANP, Coral):
Greater reach
More complex security
Specialised (AITP, Agent Protocol):
Narrow focus areas
Bottom Line
Most inter-agent protocols are early-stage. Monitor developments but avoid betting heavily on any single approach yet.
Next week: The three critical capabilities that ALL current protocols are missing.
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