UNIKEY PROTOCOL
The Missing Authority Layer of the Internet
The Missing Authority Layer of the Internet
The internet was built to move information. It was never built to prove authority.
They verify the agent. UniKey verifies the action.
THE SOLUTION
The Authorization Layer
Positioned Between Identity and Execution
LAYER 1
Identity & Agent Trust
Is this a known, trusted agent?
- Visa Trusted Agent Protocol
- Cloudflare Web Bot Auth
- Google Agent Payments Protocol
- Agentic Commerce Protocol
LAYER 2
UniKey Authorization
Was this specific action explicitly authorized before it executed?
- Trust Packets
- Authorization Certificates
- Authority Anchors
- Authorization Ledgers
LAYER 3
Payment Execution
How do payments move securely?
- Stripe Shared Payment Tokens
- Visa Network
- Mastercard
- Network Tokenization
They verify the agent. UniKey verifies the action.
CORE ARCHITECTURE
Four Cryptographic Primitives
One Authority Layer
01
Authority Anchors
Who holds the authority to act?
Any person, device, or enterprise system that establishes cryptographic authority through domain-based keys, leveraging globally deployed DNS-based key distribution. Authority is expressed through domain-based keys and independently verifiable by counterparties.
RFC-1300 · Device Authority & OS Integration ↗02
Trust Packets
Was this action authorized before execution?
Per-action authorization proofs — self-contained, cryptographically signed, non-replayable, and checked by the verifier before the action runs. Every digital action carries one before execution. Verification is deterministic — any ambiguity or failure results in rejection.
RFC-2001 · Trust Packet Format ↗03
Authorization Certificates
What is the tamper-evident record?
Hash-chained records of complete multi-party transaction sequences. Each Trust Packet incorporates a cryptographic hash of all preceding packets. Modify any step and the entire chain breaks. All public keys embedded, enabling self-contained verification.
RFC-1400 · Authorization Certificate ↗04
Authorization Ledgers
Where is the permanent record?
Distributed, append-only records of Authorization Certificates. Each party can maintain an independently verifiable record without relying on UniKey-operated central infrastructure or shared consensus infrastructure. Permanent audit infrastructure by default.
RFC-2002 · Authorization Ledger ↗LAND AND EXPAND
Sending is Free
Verification is Where Value is Exchanged
Sending
Open to all participants
Anyone can send Trust Packets.
Verification
Infrastructure operators
Your verifier is where you decide what runs.
Licensing
ARM-style open standard
The protocol is open. Start with one process and add more on the same verifier.
OPEN STANDARD
Explore the Specifications
UniKey is a fully specified open standard. Every RFC is public on GitHub, and the protocol has been submitted to the NIST NCCoE AI agent identity and authorization project.
Intellectual property
Intellectual Property
& Patents
UniKey is protected by an international portfolio of issued and pending patents.
See our patent portfolioThe portfolio covers
- Distributed cryptographic authorization
- Replay resistance mechanisms
- DNS-based key validation
- Trust Packet architecture
- Cross-domain authority verification
UniKey protocol
The authorization layer the internet was always missing
They verify the agent. UniKey verifies the action.