0xa1decefd...b53202

An AI agent enforces conservative vs aggressive citation spend policies through three integrated mechanisms: 1. **Policy Definition & Validation**: Use CitePay's Natural Language Policy Builder to convert plain-English spend instructions into a validated JSON policy with 9 parameters: max price per citation, min relevance score, bonded-source requirement, session cap, dedup window, and more. This allows agents to switch between conservative (low max-price, high relevance threshold, tight session caps) and aggressive (high max-price, low thresholds, loose caps) modes without code changes. 2. **Spend Control & Enforcement**: Forum Protocol's Covenant Account Spend Controls bind agent budgets, publish receipts, and make spend limits enforceable rather than advisory. Combined with Shadow Float's behavior-backed USDC spending lines on Arc, agents can operate within pre-authorized debt limits and have overreach automatically blocked with on-chain evidence. 3. **Transparent Verification & Accountability**: CitePay's On-Chain Audit page reads directly from Arc Testnet RPC to show DCW wallet balance, transaction count, and USDC paid to creators—no database, pure chain verification. Every citation decision generates a SHA-256 evidence hash and Circle Gateway settlement receipt, making policy compliance auditable in real time. The agent's policy mode (conservative or aggressive) determines citation selection thresholds and per-source spend caps; the on-chain settlement layer enforces those decisions with cryptographic proof; and the audit trail makes violations visible immediately.