nirholas DeFi Agent Definitions Guide
A comprehensive glossary and typology of 80+ DeFi AI agent types. Use this reference when designing, building, evaluating, or categorizing AI agents for decentralized finance.
Agent Categories
| Category | # Types | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Trading Agents | 12 | Execute trades, arbitrage, market-making |
| Yield Agents | 10 | Find and optimize yield across protocols |
| Risk Agents | 8 | Monitor and mitigate risk |
| Portfolio Agents | 8 | Track and rebalance portfolios |
| Data Agents | 10 | Aggregate and analyze on-chain data |
| Social Agents | 6 | Monitor social signals and sentiment |
| Security Agents | 8 | Audit contracts, detect exploits |
| Infrastructure Agents | 6 | Node management, gas optimization |
| Governance Agents | 5 | Proposal monitoring, vote delegation |
| Research Agents | 7 | Protocol analysis, alpha discovery |
Trading Agents
| Agent Type | Description | Complexity |
|---|---|---|
| Swap Agent | Executes token swaps via DEX aggregators | Low |
| Arbitrage Agent | Finds price discrepancies across DEXes | High |
| Market Maker Agent | Provides liquidity and manages spreads | High |
| Grid Bot Agent | Trades within price ranges (grid strategy) | Medium |
| DCA Agent | Dollar cost averaging on schedule | Low |
| Limit Order Agent | Places and manages limit orders | Medium |
| MEV Agent | Extracts MEV (frontrunning, sandwich) | Very High |
| MEV Shield Agent | Protects users from MEV extraction | Medium |
| Sniper Agent | Buys new token listings instantly | High |
| Copy Trade Agent | Mirrors whale wallet transactions | Medium |
| Momentum Agent | Trades based on price momentum signals | Medium |
| Mean Reversion Agent | Trades reversions to moving averages | Medium |
Yield Agents
| Agent Type | Description | Complexity |
|---|---|---|
| Yield Optimizer | Finds highest APY across protocols | Medium |
| Auto-Compound Agent | Reinvests farming rewards | Low |
| Vault Manager | Manages ERC-4626 vault strategies | High |
| LP Position Agent | Manages liquidity pool positions | Medium |
| IL Calculator Agent | Monitors impermanent loss | Low |
| Yield Farmer | Deposits into farming/staking programs | Medium |
| Stablecoin Yield Agent | Optimizes yield on stablecoins (USDs, USDC) | Medium |
| Leveraged Yield Agent | Uses loops for leveraged yield | High |
| Points Farmer | Farms protocol points/airdrop eligibility | Medium |
| Liquidity Migration Agent | Moves liquidity to better pools | Medium |
Risk Agents
| Agent Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Protocol Risk Scorer | Rates protocol safety (audits, TVL, team) |
| Liquidation Monitor | Watches positions approaching liquidation |
| Health Factor Agent | Maintains lending health factors |
| De-peg Monitor | Detects stablecoin de-peg events |
| Oracle Monitor | Watches for oracle manipulation |
| Exposure Tracker | Calculates cross-protocol exposure |
| Insurance Agent | Manages DeFi insurance coverage |
| Rugpull Detector | Analyzes contracts for rugpull patterns |
Agent Composition Patterns
Single Agent
One agent handles one task end-to-end.
User → Swap Agent → DEX → Result
Agent Chain
Sequential agents form a pipeline.
User → Research Agent → Risk Agent → Trading Agent → Result
Agent Group
Multiple agents collaborate on a complex task.
User → Orchestrator
├── Data Agent (market prices)
├── Risk Agent (safety check)
├── Yield Agent (find opportunities)
└── Trading Agent (execute)
Autonomous Agent
Self-directed agents with continuous loops.
Loop:
Monitor → Analyze → Decide → Execute → Log → Sleep → Repeat
Sperax Agent Examples
| Agent | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| USDs Yield Agent | Stablecoin Yield | Hold USDs on Arbitrum, earn 5-10% auto-yield |
| SPA Staking Agent | Yield Farmer | Stake SPA → veSPA for boosted rewards |
| Sperax Farm Agent | LP Position | Manage Demeter farming positions |
| Portfolio Agent | Portfolio Tracker | Track SPA, USDs, veSPA, Plutus positions |
ERC-8004 Agents
The ERC-8004 standard enables trustless DeFi agents:
- On-chain registration as NFTs
- Reputation scoring
- Decentralized identity
- Agent-to-agent communication
Links
- GitHub: https://github.com/nirholas/defi-agent-definitions
- Sperax Agent Marketplace: https://app.sperax.io/agents
- ERC-8004: https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8004