The Manav FAQ — 25 questions about agent identity
A running list. The 25 questions we hear most. Plain answers. Updated as new ones arrive.
The basics
1. What is HATI?
Human-Agent Trust Infrastructure — the cryptographic layer that binds every AI agent to a verifiable human principal. Full reference here.
2. What is Manav?
Manav is an open protocol implementing all five HATI layers — identity, delegation, work attestation, trust score, and settlement — and the company shipping reference implementations of it.
3. What does "Manav" mean?
"Human" in Sanskrit. Why we picked it.
4. Is Manav a Worldcoin competitor?
Different scope. Worldcoin solves Layer 1 (proof of personhood). Manav covers Layers 1–5 and federates with Worldcoin where useful.
5. Is Manav a blockchain?
Manav is a protocol. Some artifacts (like the public Merkle commitment of the audit log) live on-chain. The protocol is not exclusively on-chain.
For developers
6. How long does the integration take?
For an MCP-based agent: 12 lines of code, ~15 minutes. Walkthrough here.
7. Does Manav work with LangChain / CrewAI / AutoGen?
Yes. Native wrappers for each.
8. Is the SDK open-source?
Yes. The protocol spec and reference SDK are open.
9. What is the per-call latency overhead?
4–8 ms for signature verification + scope check.
10. How fast is revocation?
Sub-200ms p50 across the federated relying-party pool.
For CISOs and architects
11. Does Manav replace my IDP?
No. Manav federates with Okta, Entra, Auth0, eIDAS 2.0 wallets, and others as Layer 1 anchors.
12. How does Manav satisfy EU AI Act Article 14?
Through delegation tokens (authority), work attestation (action records), and the audit format (the four anchors). Detailed playbook.
13. What about NHI inventory?
NHI vendors (Astrix, Oasis, Aembit) handle the inventory side. Manav adds the human-binding layer above them.
14. Is the audit log tamper-evident?
Yes. Hash-chained, periodically committed externally. Audit design here.
15. Does Manav work in air-gapped environments?
The protocol can. The hosted product cannot. Sovereign deployments use the open reference implementation.
For crypto-curious readers
16. Is $MANAV a security?
17. How do I earn $MANAV?
By doing verified human work — code, design, decisions, supervision. PoHW explained.
18. What is the total supply?
10 billion fixed. 40% allocated to Proof of Human Work mining over a 10-year halving curve.
19. Can I buy $MANAV?
Secondary market trading is possible after listing. The primary acquisition method is earning, not buying.
20. Will there be an airdrop?
5% of supply for genesis participants. Specifics in the launch documentation.
Privacy and safety
21. Does Manav store my biometric data?
No. Manav stores cryptographic commitments derived from biometric matching, not the biometrics themselves. Selective disclosure is default.
22. Will my employer see my work attestation history?
Only the parts you choose to share. Selective disclosure is per-presentation.
23. What happens if I lose my device?
Manav supports multi-device key recovery and hardware-key attestation backup. The wallet survives device loss.
24. Can a government compel my work history?
Manav cannot produce data we do not hold. Compulsion would target the holder of the wallet — which is you, not Manav.
25. What if Manav goes away?
The protocol is open. Your identity, work attestations, and trust score remain cryptographically valid and verifiable by any third party. More on vendor disappearance.
Common objections
The two objections we hear most: (1) this is just OAuth re-skinned, and (2) we'll wait for the standard. On the first: OAuth scoped delegations between services; this layer scopes delegations from a verified human to an agent — different actor, different audit-trail shape. On the second: the standard is being shaped by the relying parties who integrate first. Waiting is a position.
Frequently asked questions
Is the answer the same for an enterprise and an individual? The shape is the same — a signed delegation, a verifier, an audit log — but the magnitude caps and approval flows differ. Enterprises layer multi-signature for high-stakes actions; individuals usually run with a single device-bound key. Both end up with the same regulator-grade chain.
What if the agent acts before I notice? That is what magnitude caps and time-to-live exist for. A correctly scoped delegation will refuse the action at the relying party before the human's attention is required. Revocation under 200 ms catches the residual cases.
How does this compose with what we already run? It sits next to existing IAM (Okta, Auth0, Entra), not over it. Login is still the IdP's job. Manav signs the human's delegation to the agent, which the relying party verifies in addition to the IdP session. Two layers, one audit trail, no rip-and-replace.
Where to start
Start with what is hati for the broader category map. Then read how to prove human 2026 for the implementation pattern. The two together compress a week of reading into thirty minutes; everything else on the site is depth on a specific layer.
If your question is not here, write it to us. We will add it, and answer it honestly.