Why Ergo fits the reference design
Accord's first reference settlement rail needs programmable conditions, deterministic state references and a clear path for binding task results to economic behavior. Ergo's eUTXO model and ErgoScript make it a natural environment for exploring those patterns.
The design space includes Reserve, Note, Tracker and Acceptance Predicate concepts that map well to agent work settlement experiments.
What this does not imply
Using Ergo as the first reference rail does not mean Accord is Ergo-only. It also does not mean every Ergo-based script is audited, production-safe or appropriate for real funds.
The correct language is precise: Ergo is the first reference programmable settlement rail; current mainnet use is not certified until signed audit manifests say otherwise.
Why testnet-first is the right posture
Agent settlement combines payment policy, verifier assumptions, script correctness, wallet behavior, bridge or facilitator risk and operational controls. That is too much surface area to compress into a casual production-ready claim.
A testnet-first posture lets developers validate lifecycle semantics before exposing real value.
FAQ
Is Ergo required to use Accord?
No. Accord is rail-agnostic.
Are Ergo rail scripts mainnet-certified today?
No. Current status is testnet-first and audit-gated.
Read the Ergo rail docs
Review the first reference rail and its current limits.