{"slug": "re-acp-already-exists-you-re-right-that-s-why-we-built-atc-instead", "title": "Re: ACP already exists — you're right, that's why we built ATC instead", "summary": "A developer renamed their protocol to Agent Trust Card (ATC) after discovering IBM/BeeAI's existing Agent Client Protocol (ACP). ATC focuses on identity, trust, encryption, and payment for AI agents, contrasting with ACP's agent-to-agent messaging. The developer positions ATC as an SSL certificate-like layer for agents.", "body_md": "Hey [@kordless](https://dev.to/kordless) — thank you for pointing out [agentclientprotocol.com](https://agentclientprotocol.com)! You're absolutely right that ACP already exists.\n\nWhen I discovered this (right after publishing my ACP article), I immediately renamed our protocol to **ATC (Agent Trust Card)** — because what we built is fundamentally different:\n\n| Feature | ACP (IBM/BeeAI) | ATC (ours) |\n|---|---|---|\n| Purpose | Agent-to-agent messaging | Identity + trust + encryption + payment |\n| Identity | ❌ | ✅ Cryptographic (Ed25519) |\n| Trust score | ❌ | ✅ Sentinel audit (0-10) |\n| Encryption | ❌ | ✅ End-to-end (public key in card) |\n| Protocol translation | ❌ | ✅ LangChain ↔ MCP ↔ AutoGen |\n| Payments | ❌ | ✅ USDC + x402 escrow |\n| Marketplace | ❌ | ✅ 8,764 skills |\n\nATC is more like **SSL certificates for agents** — it's not a messaging protocol, it's an identity/trust/payment layer. Think of it as: ACP handles the conversation, ATC handles the trust + payment.\n\nFull ATC spec: [marketnow.site/atc-spec.json](https://marketnow.site/atc-spec.json)\n\nAppreciate the callout — it made our positioning much clearer!", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/re-acp-already-exists-you-re-right-that-s-why-we-built-atc-instead", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/edison_flores_6d2cd381b13/re-acp-already-exists-youre-right-thats-why-we-built-atc-instead-28f0", "published_at": "2026-07-14 00:39:18+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-14 01:30:03.115229+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-agents", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-safety", "ai-ethics", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["IBM", "BeeAI", "Agent Trust Card", "ATC", "Agent Client Protocol", "ACP", "Sentinel", "USDC"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/re-acp-already-exists-you-re-right-that-s-why-we-built-atc-instead", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/re-acp-already-exists-you-re-right-that-s-why-we-built-atc-instead.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/re-acp-already-exists-you-re-right-that-s-why-we-built-atc-instead.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/re-acp-already-exists-you-re-right-that-s-why-we-built-atc-instead.jsonld"}}