// GLOSSARY -- AGENTIC FINANCE
What is an Agent Budget?
An agent budget is the total crypto allocated to an agent for a specific task, time period, or session — the financial envelope enforced through spending controls.
WHY IT MATTERS
Budgets apply the same principle used for departments and projects: define how much before work starts. A well-structured budget considers expected cost, price buffers, gas, and safety margin.
Should be the minimum needed, not the maximum you can lose. Budgets can be hierarchical: org → project → fleet → agent.
This mirrors corporate treasury at machine speed and programmatic precision.
HOW POLICYLAYER USES THIS
PolicyLayer sets budgets per agent, per period, with automatic enforcement. Alerts, throttling, or HITL approval trigger when limits approach.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How to estimate?
Test run on a small budget, track cost per task completion, set production at 1.5-2x observed average.
Roll over?
Policy decision. PolicyLayer supports both use-it-or-lose-it and cumulative budgets.
What when exhausted?
Further transactions blocked. Operator notified. Additional budget allocatable without restarting the agent.