You can let an AI agent inspect Cardano data and prepare transactions without giving it control of your funds: keep signing keys outside the agent, have it return an unsigned transaction, and approve that transaction yourself in a wallet. A wallet connection is not the same as permission to spend.
Choose what the agent is allowed to do
Start with the narrowest access that meets the task. For monitoring, an address or read-only wallet can provide visibility without signing authority. Cardano’s developer guidance distinguishes read-only access, which has no key and cannot sign, from seed or private-key wallets that can. Read Cardano’s wallet guidance.
- Read chain state: give the agent the public information it needs, such as an address or read-only access.
- Prepare a transaction: let the agent construct an unsigned transaction for your review.
- Sign or spend: keep this step in a wallet you control; do not provide the agent with your recovery phrase or private key.
Cardano’s agent guidance describes a pattern in which the agent proposes and drafts while the wallet signs. An agent does not need signing authority to be useful. See Cardano’s guidance on agents.
Keep signing keys out of the agent
Never put a mnemonic or private key in a model prompt, agent configuration, frontend code, or source-control repository. If an application has an unavoidable backend signing key, load it through a secret manager, use separate keys for different environments, and restrict what the service can do. A secret manager protects storage; it does not make it safe to grant an AI agent autonomous spending authority.
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For an interactive agent, the safer default is that the agent and its server never receive the signing secret. If an MCP server can move funds without your approval, it is acting with custodial authority: assess the server and its permissions as you would any service entrusted with funds.
Connect a browser dApp through CIP-30
CIP-30 is a browser dApp-to-wallet interface, not an AI-agent protocol. An agent can operate behind an application that uses CIP-30, while your browser wallet remains the signer. Once you connect, the dApp can access wallet information allowed by the interface; signing is a separate action. The specification requires the wallet to request the user’s consent for every signTx and signData call, with informative approval. Read the CIP-30 specification.
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- Discover a compatible wallet: the dApp checks for an installed wallet that exposes CIP-30.
- Request access: choose the wallet and grant the connection in its prompt. Review what the dApp is asking to access.
- Prepare, but do not automatically sign: the agent or application can build an unsigned transaction and present it to you.
- Review and approve in the wallet: inspect the transaction details in the wallet’s approval interface before consenting to the signature.
- Submit the signed transaction: signing and broadcasting are distinct steps. The signed transaction may be submitted through the dApp, a backend, or a provider-backed client; verify the intended submission path.
A successful connection does not mean the wallet has approved a transaction. Treat each signature prompt as a new decision, and do not approve a transaction merely because the agent prepared it.
Evaluate an MCP server before relying on it
Cardano’s agent guidance describes MCP servers that expose chain reads and transaction drafting, but it does not certify particular servers. Before connecting one, inspect its implementation and the tools it exposes. Confirm whether it only reads and drafts or can also sign, submit, or otherwise move funds.
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- Identify where any signing key is stored and which component can access it.
- Check the available tools and the permissions each one has.
- Trace how transaction inputs and outputs are constructed and what a human sees before approval.
- Determine whether signing is performed by your wallet or by the server.
- Check how and where signed transactions are submitted.
If the server can sign or spend without a wallet approval from you, the arrangement has shifted from an assistant preparing work to a service holding spend authority. Evaluate that trust explicitly rather than treating it as a routine wallet connection.
Use message signing for login, not spending approval
CIP-8 message signing can help prove control of a wallet address during authentication without authorizing a transaction. A sound login flow generates a unique nonce for each attempt, verifies the signature on the server, and rejects or rotates the nonce after verification so it cannot be replayed. Do not treat a message signature as authorization to transfer funds. See Cardano’s authentication guidance.
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Add hardware signing with transaction-specific checks
A hardware wallet can keep signing keys isolated from the agent’s environment. Cardano’s wallet security guidance recommends hardware wallets for larger holdings and calls for checking transaction details on the device itself. Read Cardano’s wallet security guidance.
Hardware support is not universal for every valid transaction. CIP-21 documents limits related to device memory and supported data types, so a hardware wallet may be unable to process some transactions. Check compatibility for the exact device, companion wallet, and transaction features you plan to use, and verify the details on the device display before confirming. Read CIP-21.
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Check optional governance support instead of assuming it
CIP-95 adds optional governance features to the wallet interface. It is not safe to assume every CIP-30 wallet supports those methods; an application that needs governance functionality should detect the extension and handle its absence. Read the CIP-95 specification.
Compare setups by authority and review
| Setup | Signing authority | Key location | What to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address or read-only access | No signing capability | No signing key provided | That the agent’s task only requires public or read-only data |
| Agent drafts; user signs in wallet | Human-approved signature | Wallet or hardware device | Unsigned transaction details, wallet prompt, and submission path |
| Backend-held signing key | Depends on service controls; may permit unattended signing | Managed backend secret | Secret handling, key scope, exposed tools, and whether approval is genuinely required |
| Agent or server receives signing material | Potentially autonomous | Agent or server environment | This expands the trust boundary; do not use it as the default interactive design |
The choice is not simply about which wallet or server to use. Assess signing authority, key location, what the user can review, the server’s exposed tools, and compatibility with the wallet interface and transaction features. The cited Cardano guidance does not establish a security ranking of particular MCP servers or commercial wallets.
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