Semantic Substrate

What is Economy?

EconomyThe system of value exchange among agents, defining how autonomous parties price, trade, and settle.

Economy is the primitive that answers how do agents exchange value? As agents transact on our behalf, the mechanics of pricing and payment become their own layer.

It is the layer where coordination meets incentive. An agentic economy sets how value moves, so independent agents can transact without a human in each loop.

Where economy sits in the stack

In the four-layer architecture of the agentic web, economy is a Cross-cutting concept — it applies across every layer of the stack. See the thesis for how the layers compound.

Economy in the portfolio

92 positions in the Semantic Substrate portfolio carry the Economy primitive43 available individually, 49 held as a coordinated set. Explore the Economy cluster →

Quick answers

What is Economy in agentic systems?
The system of value exchange among agents, defining how autonomous parties price, trade, and settle.
Where does Economy sit in the agentic stack?
Economy sits at the Cross-cutting layer — it applies across every layer of the stack.
How many Economy domain positions exist in the Semantic Substrate portfolio?
92 positions carry the Economy primitive — 43 available individually, the rest held as a coordinated set.

Related primitives

Held in the portfolio under Economy.