What are Spending Controls?
Spending controls are programmable rules limiting how, when, and where an AI agent can spend crypto — per-transaction limits, rolling budgets, recipient whitelists, token restrictions, and velocity checks enforced before signing.
WHY IT MATTERS
When an agent has wallet access, it can technically drain every token. Spending controls constrain this to match the operator's intent — the financial equivalent of a sandbox.
Controls work at multiple levels: per-transaction (no single spend above $X), per-period (max $Y/hour), per-recipient (approved addresses only), per-token (USDC only). The combination creates a comprehensive safety net.
Unlike prompt-based guardrails that can be jailbroken, infrastructure-level spending controls operate outside the LLM's reasoning loop. The agent can't talk its way past a spending limit.
HOW POLICYLAYER USES THIS
Spending controls are PolicyLayer's core product — a declarative way to define, deploy, and enforce spending rules for any agent handling crypto. Rules evaluate in real-time before signing and update without redeploying agents.