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[ARTICLE · art-63059] src=dev.to ↗ pub= topic=ai-agents verified=true sentiment=↑ positive

AI agents need their own SSL. Here's why I built it.

Edison Flores of AliceLabs LLC built Agent Trust Card (ATC), an SSL-like trust layer for AI agents, to solve the verification problem when agents call each other autonomously. The system uses an 8-layer security audit pipeline called Sentinel and a certificate authority at MarketNow to issue and verify trust cards, analogous to how SSL enabled e-commerce.

read1 min views59 publishedJul 17, 2026

In 1995, Netscape released SSL. The web didn't really take off commercially until then. Before SSL, you couldn't trust a website with your credit card. After SSL, e-commerce exploded.

AI agents are at the same inflection point in 2026. Here's why.

Agents are starting to call each other autonomously. Each hop is a trust decision. But agents have no way to verify each other.

Today, when Agent A calls Agent B:

This is exactly where the web was in 1994. No SSL, no trust, no commerce.

Web (1995) Agents (2026)
HTTP (transport) A2A + MCP (transport)
No HTTPS = can't trust No ATC = can't trust
SSL certificate ATC Trust Card
Certificate Authority MarketNow Sentinel CA
Revocation list (CRL) /api/atc?action=verify

ATC (Agent Trust Card) — SSL certificates for AI agents.

The ATC's trust score comes from Sentinel — the 8-layer security audit pipeline:

MarketNow is not competing with A2A or MCP. It's the trust layer that sits on top:

ATC (Trust Layer)              <- MarketNow
A2A / MCP (Transport Layer)    <- Google / Anthropic
HTTP / WebSocket (Network)     <- Standard

Every agent with an A2A card can have an ATC Trust Card. Every MCP skill can have a Sentinel Certificate. Complementary, not competitive.

curl https://marketnow.site/api/atc?action=ca-key

curl -X POST https://marketnow.site/api/atc \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"action":"issue","agent_id":"your.agent","public_key":"your-ed25519-pubkey"}'

curl "https://marketnow.site/api/atc?action=verify&card_id=ATC-2026-XXXXXXX"

Live demo: https://marketnow.site/atc

GitHub: https://github.com/edgarfloresguerra2011-a11y/marketnow

The web needed SSL to become trustworthy enough for commerce. Agents need the same thing. This is it.

Edison Flores, AliceLabs LLC — marketnow.site

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