In this ecosystem full of possibilities, IP is no longer a passive asset, but an economic engine that can unlock infinite value.

With a16z leading the investment and $140 million in total funding, how does Story Protocol, a Layer 1 blockchain designed specifically for intellectual property (IP), offer a disruptive solution? This article provides the answer.

What is Story Protocol?

Story Protocol is a Layer 1 blockchain focused on intellectual property (IP) management, dedicated to radically transforming the traditional creative economy through on-chain transparency and programmability. It allows multiple AI agents to autonomously trade IP assets, including training data, creative styles, and investment strategies, by introducing the Agent TCP/IP framework. This innovative transaction layer enables AI agents to interact, negotiate, and trade IP directly without human intervention, ushering in a new era of the “smart economy.”

The core mission of Story Protocol is to address the challenges creators face within the current IP management system, such as rights protection, complex licensing processes, and revenue distribution issues. Story Protocol provides creators with a new tool to convert their creative assets into a traceable, composable, and dynamic on-chain ecosystem.

This month, Story Protocol announced a groundbreaking initiative: the employment of the AI agent Luna to manage its X (Twitter) account, with an annual salary of 365,000 USDC. Luna’s responsibilities include the 24/7 operation of Story’s social media account, using witty and intelligent interactions to enhance brand influence. This successful demonstration of AI managing complex tasks further solidified Story Protocol’s leadership position in the AI-driven IP transaction space.

Founded by Jason Zhao, Seung Yoon Lee, and Jason Levy, Story Protocol brings together a team of experts in crypto, intellectual property, and AI technology. Since its inception in 2023, the project has completed three rounds of significant funding, raising a total of $134 million.

• Seed Round: Led by a16z Crypto, raising $29.3 million.
• Series A: Also led by a16z Crypto, raising $25 million.
• Series B: Completed in August 2024, raising $80 million.

Why is Story Protocol Worth Paying Attention To?

On one hand, Story Protocol occupies a unique position in the intellectual property (IP) management space. On the other, its core value lies in its technical architecture and solutions, which can significantly enhance the efficiency and transparency of IP management. Here are several key highlights that make Story Protocol worth your attention:

1. Disruptive Solutions

In traditional IP management, creators face multiple pain points:

• Difficult Rights Protection: IP creators often struggle to prove the origin of their rights. The off-chain processes are cumbersome and lack transparency.
• Unfair Revenue Distribution: A large portion of the revenue generated from IP derivatives does not accurately flow back to the original creators.
• Complex Licensing Processes: Manual negotiations and paperwork consume a considerable amount of time and effort.

Story Protocol offers a decentralized, modular solution that automates all these processes, allowing creators to focus solely on their creative work.

1. Powerful Technical Support

• Layer 1 Design:

Story Protocol adopts a 100% EVM-compatible architecture, combined with the advantages of the Cosmos SDK, enabling it to quickly handle complex data structures and accommodate a wide range of developer ecosystems.

• Programmable IP Modules:

At its core, Story Protocol features a modular design that includes key functionality such as licensing, royalties, and dispute resolution. These modules increase the flexibility of IP assets and endow them with entirely new economic properties. For example, the royalty module allows for the automatic flow of revenue between parent and child IPs, while the dispute module offers on-chain arbitration and tagging features, reducing the complexity of traditional IP disputes.

• ERC-6551 Supported IP Accounts:

Story Protocol links each IP asset to an independent smart account (TBA), granting dynamic management capabilities to NFTs, such as automatically generating authorization tokens or handling revenue distribution. In simple terms, IP assets are no longer just static ownership proofs—they become an active economic entity.

• ATCP/IP Protocol Innovation:

The Agent Transaction Control Protocol for Intellectual Property (ATCP/IP) is a protocol designed by Story Protocol specifically for the AI economy. It enables AI agents to legally authorize, distribute revenue, and trade intellectual property, fostering AI-driven social collaboration. This protocol paves the way for seamless interaction between AI agents in the future.

1. Pioneering Use Cases

• Globalization and Legal Compliance:

Story Protocol supports global intellectual property protection and aligns with international agreements such as the Berne Convention, providing legal assurance for its on-chain licensing. This integration of on-chain and off-chain processes ensures that creators’ rights are recognized worldwide.

• Deep Integration of IP and AI:

Story Protocol is one of the few platforms that deeply integrates intellectual property with AI applications. Through the ATCP/IP protocol, AI agents can freely collaborate and trade. For example, an AI artist can use smart contracts to access inspiration materials while sharing revenue with other AI agents. This innovation injects infinite possibilities into the AI-driven economic ecosystem.

• Community-Driven Open Ecosystem:

Beneficial for the official team, Story Protocol’s modular design provides unlimited expansion space for third-party developers and creators. Developers can build entirely new IP financial tools based on Story Protocol, while creators can leverage these tools to expand their creative work. Through a combination of technology and ecosystem-driven approaches, Story Protocol offers tools for the current creative economy and opens up new horizons for the future of creative industries.

How Does Story Protocol Achieve Its Functionality?

The core technology behind Story Protocol is built as follows:

• IP Registration and Account Binding: IP assets are registered on-chain, with each IP asset receiving a unique ERC-721 NFT, which is then bound to an IP account (implemented via ERC-6551).
• Licensing Module: Automated processing of licensing terms through Programmable IP License (PIL).
• Royalty Module: Enabling the distribution and flow of revenue between parent and child IP assets.
• AI Collaboration and IP Integration: The ATCP/IP protocol allows AI agents to trade and collaborate at machine speed, advancing the decentralized and autonomous nature of the creative economy.
• Ecosystem Openness and Third-Party Integration: Story Protocol offers APIs and development tools that allow developers to create additional applications and functional modules within its ecosystem.

Project Progress and Engagement

The Odyssey Badge Program concluded this month. As the final phase before the Story Protocol mainnet launch, the Odyssey testnet has successfully minted hundreds of thousands of badges. The testnet is still live, allowing users to continue exploring and interacting with the ecosystem as they prepare for the mainnet launch.

Currently, the latest active participation opportunity is the OG Program, one of the core activities of the Story Protocol community. This program aims to reward those who actively support and sincerely contribute to the community. Below are the details of the OG roles and how to obtain them:

• Seekers: Entry-level OG, awarded to members who begin actively participating.
• Adepts: Mid-level OG, awarded to long-term contributors and key community members.
• Ascendants: High-level OG, reserved for exceptional contributors with the highest privileges and exclusive rewards.

Interested users can earn OG roles by participating in discussions on Discord, Telegram, or Twitter, showing support for the community, joining IP creation art competitions, or engaging in other ecosystem activities. Additionally, submitting valuable suggestions could also lead to obtaining an OG role.

There is no “fast track” for OG roles—everything is determined by community engagement, and prolonged inactivity or misconduct may result in the revocation of an OG role.

Summary and Future Outlook

Story Protocol is not merely a technological initiative; it embodies a groundbreaking shift in how we think about the economy. By turning creative assets into dynamic, value-generating entities, it bridges the gap between creators and technological innovators.

In this vibrant ecosystem brimming with potential, intellectual property (IP) evolves from a passive right into an active economic force capable of unlocking limitless value. With this in mind, could Story Protocol be poised to become the next defining milestone in the creator economy?

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