Overview

Skyfire enables programmatic interaction between Buyers and Sellers using a token-based identity and payment protocol.

Each user manages one or more agent accounts (Buyer or Seller). Buyers interact with seller websites, APIs, MCP servers, and services by presenting Skyfire tokens:

kya (identity)
pay (payment)
kya+pay (combined identity and payment)

Platform Structure

Users

A User is the top-level entity on the Skyfire platform. Users typically represent an individual person or business.

Users:

Manage one or more agent accounts
Maintain a verified identity
Control API keys and wallet access

A user's verified identity may be leveraged by their agents for:

Account creation
Authentication
Access to seller services

Agent Accounts

Agent accounts are the operational entities that interact with Skyfire APIs.

Each agent:

Is tied to exactly one user
Has exactly one role: Buyer or Seller
Is accessed programmatically via unique API keys.

Each user may have:

One Buyer agent account (created by default at signup).
One optional Seller agent account (created via the Skyfire Dashboard)

Each agent may have one or more API keys for secure access.

Buyer Agent

Acts on behalf of the user to discover and purchase services or tools from sellers.

Capabilities:

Can create accounts with seller services
Subscribe to or purchase services
Generate:
- kya tokens (identity)
- pay tokens (payment)
- kya+pay tokens (identity + payment)

Each buyer agent has a wallet, funded by the user, used to transact with sellers.

When calling a seller service, the buyer includes the appropriate token as specified by the seller (e.g. HTTP header or request body).

Seller Agent

Enables a user to publish and monetize services, tools, or APIs.

Seller agents:

Must be explicitly created via the Skyfire Dashboard
Register Seller Services
Define identity and payment requirements for buyer requests
Verify incoming tokens via standard JWKS libraries to:
- Authenticate the buyer (kya)
- Charge the buyer (pay or kya+pay)

Sellers receive payments via Skyfire's settlement system once services are delivered.

Wallets

Each agent account comes with an associated wallet, managed by Skyfire.

Buyers fund their wallets to purchase services and tools
Sellers receive funds in their wallets after successfully charging buyer tokens and delivering the service

Skyfire handles settlement and transfer of funds between wallets after a successful transaction.

Seller Services

Seller services are the products, tools, or APIs made available by seller agents to buyers.

A seller can define multiple seller services under one seller agent.
Services may include:
- Remote/local MCP servers
- APIs
- Websites

Each Seller Service specifies:

Pricing
Identity requirements
Accepted token types
Token format and expected delivery method (e.g. skyfire-pay-id header)

Identity Requirements

Seller Services may optionally enforce identity requirements.

If no identity requirements are specified:

Any buyer can create tokens for it
The buyer principal's email address will be included in the bid claim

If identity requirements are specified:

Only buyers that satisfy those identity requirements can create tokens for it

Rules:

If only business identity is required:
- Only buyers that have verified their business identity can create tokens
- Buyers that have NOT verified identity OR have verified individual identity CANNOT create tokens
If only individual identity is required
- Only buyers that have verified their individual identity can create tokens
- Buyers that have NOT verified identity OR have verified business identity CANNOT create tokens
If both individual and business identity is required
- Only buyers that have verified either their individual identity or their business identity can create tokens
- Buyers that have NOT verified identity at all CANNOT create tokens
Buyers with no verified identity cannot create tokens for restricted services

Services can be:

Paid, require pay or kya+pay tokens
Free, require kya tokens (identity only)