Open Wallet Standard
Open Standard v1.0.0

An open standard that unifies how agents interact with wallets.

Every CLI, agent, and script implements its own key management. The result: keys scattered everywhere with no shared security. OWS is a unified local storage format to create, sign, and manage wallets securely across every tool and chain.

Get StartedRead the spec
$ ows wallet create --name agent-treasury
✓ Created wallet agent-treasury
ChainAddressPath
eip155:10xab16...7e3fm/44'/60'/0'/0/0
solana:5eykt4U7Kz9...Bm4xm/44'/501'/0'/0'
bip122:000...e93bc1q...8k4mm/84'/0'/0'/0/0
cosmos:cosmo...cosmos1...j4kpm/44'/118'/0'/0/0
tron:mainnetTKLm...9xP2m/44'/195'/0'/0/0
ton:mainnetEQCx...Wd3km/44'/607'/0'/0'
$

One command creates addresses for every supported chain

Every tool reinvents the wallet.

When every tool owns its own keys, nobody owns security.

today
  • ×
    foundry~/.foundry/keystores/
  • ×
    hardhat.env PRIVATE_KEY=0xab3f...
  • ×
    solana~/.config/solana/id.json
  • ×
    agent-x.env.local SIGNER=0x91c...
  • ×
    your-bot./config/wallet.json
  • ×
    .zsh_historyexport PRIVATE_KEY=0x...
6formats · 6 locations · 0 encryption
with OWS
✓
~/.ows/wallets/AES-256-GCM encrypted
1vault · 1 interface · AES-256-GCM

6 formats1 standard

plaintext keysAES-256-GCM

per-tool silosshared vault

Built for the agent era.

Six principles that make OWS different from every wallet SDK, cloud API, and ad-hoc keystore that came before it.

01

Local-first

Your keys live in ~/.ows/ — not in a browser extension, not in the cloud, not scattered across tool-specific config directories.

02

No API calls

No HTTP. No vendor lock-in. No authentication flows. No rate limits. OWS runs entirely on your machine.

03

Multi-chain by default

One wallet, every chain. Create BTC, ETH, SOL, ATOM, TON, TRON addresses from a single seed.

04

Self-custody

Your keys. Your device. No remote signing. No custodians. No third-party access.

05

Zero-trust

Agents never see plaintext keys. Instead, they authenticate with scoped API tokens.

06

Composable

Works with any tool that speaks JSON. CLI, MCP, SDK, REST — same wallet, same security model.

How it works.

Agents talk to the Access Layer. The Access Layer enforces policies before any key material is touched, and never exposes key material upstream.

TempoClaudeOpenAIPolymarket…

OWS Interface

MCP · SDK · CLI · REST

Keys never cross this boundary

Policy Engine

Evaluate limits, allowlists, chain rules

Signer

mlock · zeroize · key wiped after use

Wallet Vault

~/.ows/wallets/

Signed Transaction

Key wiped · returned to caller

Step 1

Request

Agent calls ows_sign via MCP, REST, or SDK with a chain ID and transaction object.

Step 2

Policy Check

Spending limits, allowlists, chain restrictions, and simulation requirements are evaluated before any key is touched.

Step 3

Sign

Key is decrypted, transaction signed, key immediately wiped. Signed transaction returned to caller.

Step 4

Submit(optional)

If RPC URLs are configured, the signed transaction is broadcast on-chain and the transaction hash is returned.

From zero to signing in 60 seconds.

No configuration files, no cloud setup, no SDK initialization ceremony. Install, create, sign.

Install

npm install -g @open-wallet-standard/core

Create wallet

ows wallet create --name my-agent

That's it. No environment variables, no config files, no authentication flows. Your wallet is encrypted with a password you provide, stored locally at ~/.ows/, and ready to use.

How OWS compares.

OWS vs cloud wallet APIs vs traditional keystores.

FeatureOWSCloud Wallet APIsTraditional Keystores
Multi-chain support✓ All chains via CAIP⊗ Per-chain APIs⊗ Single chain
Agent access✓ MCP + REST + SDK△ REST only⊗ Manual integration
Local-first✓ No network required⊗ Cloud-dependent✓ Local
Policy engine✓ Built-in△ Limited⊗ None
Encryption✓ AES-256-GCM△ HSM or KMS△ Varies
Audit logging✓ Append-only△ Cloud logs⊗ None
Vendor lock-in✓ None⊗ Full lock-in✓ None
Full support
Partial support
Not supported

Inspired by:

OWS builds on proven cryptographic and interoperability standards.

x402

Spec structure, scheme/network/transport separation, contribution templates

Privy

Policy engine design, key sharding concepts, CAIP-2 chain identifiers

Coinbase AgentKit

ActionProvider/WalletProvider pattern, MCP tool exposure

Keystore v3

Proven encrypted storage format since 2015

CAIP Standards

Chain-agnostic identifiers for chains, accounts, and methods

ERC-4337

Session keys, programmable validation, paymaster sponsorship

Turnkey

TEE-based signing, sub-100ms latency targets

W3C Universal Wallet

lock/unlock/import/export interface patterns

Solana Wallet Standard

Feature-based capability registration

Crossmint

Dual-key model, on-chain policy enforcement

Lit Protocol

Decentralized key management, IPFS-published policies

WalletConnect v2

Session authorization model, relay architecture

No new primitives. OWS doesn't invent new cryptography or chain-specific abstractions. It implements existing standards in a composable, agent-friendly way. If a BIP or CAIP proposal exists, OWS uses it.

Every agent deserves a wallet.Every wallet deserves a standard.

Read the spec. Build an implementation. Join the standard.

Read the SpecificationGitHub