Lit Protocol: Vincent Launch, LITKEY TGE, and Naga Mainnet

Key Insights

• Vincent entered early access in September 2025, enabling developers to deploy non-custodial agents governed by onchain policies and reusable abilities. Vincent’s core capabilities include DeFi execution, delegated automation, and AI-assisted workflows.
• The LITKEY TGE is scheduled for Q4 2025. The token will serve as the protocol’s unit of payment, staking collateral for node operators, and governance mechanism. A community presale held in March raised $1.1 million from over 275 participants.
• Naga, Lit Protocol’s v1 mainnet, will launch following the TGE. It introduces a staking-based validator selection process and upgrades including usage-based payments, expanded cryptographic curve support and improved session management.
• The Naga validator set will be selected through an open staking and delegation contest. Prospective node operators must meet self-stake and infrastructure requirements..

Primer

Lit Protocol is a decentralized key management and private compute network that provides developers with secure signing, encryption, and computation capabilities. Built on multi-party computation (MPC), threshold cryptography, and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), Lit enables non-custodial key management, programmable access control, and privacy-preserving compute across blockchains. Its three core services are:

• Signing: Decentralized, chain-agnostic signing and wallet management (ECDSA and EdDSA) using Programmable Key Pairs (PKPs).
• Encryption: Identity-based encryption with customizable access control conditions, allowing private data to be shared and decrypted only by authorized parties.
• Compute: Offchain private computation through Lit Actions, JavaScript programs executed inside secure TEEs that can automate signing, decryption, and cross-chain logic.

The Lit network consists of a collection of sealed Lit Nodes. Each node performs cryptographic operations in parallel with other nodes. The network requires nodes to achieve a two-thirds consensus to perform signing or decryption, which ensures security and privacy. Lit’s distributed key generation (DKG) model ensures that no single node holds complete key access. Currently, Lit Protocol’s Datil Mainnet Beta is live and manages over $260 million in digital assets. Lit Protocol raised over $15 million in investments from 1kx, Collab+Currency, Sfermion, and more. For a complete primer on Lit Protocol, refer to our Initiation of Coverage report.

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Introduction

As autonomous agents and composable smart contracts proliferate across chains, the need for programmable, decentralized control over key management has become increasingly urgent. From user wallets and DAOs to AI-coordinated workflows and confidential compute, applications require infrastructure that can securely sign, encrypt, and execute, without relying on centralized custody or hardcoded logic.

Lit Protocol is building this infrastructure. Initially launched as a threshold cryptography network for distributed key management, Lit has evolved into a programmable coordination layer for multichain agents and applications. Its newest release, Vincent, introduces a developer framework for user-owned agents that can act independently while adhering to onchain permissions. These agents operate across EVM and non-EVM chains, TradFi rails, and compute environments, all backed by Lit’s decentralized signing layer.

This new capability arrives alongside two major milestones: the launch of LITKEY, Lit Protocol’s native token, and the activation of Naga, its v1 mainnet. Together, these unlock staking, governance, and application-layer automation at scale, positioning Lit as foundational infrastructure for secure, autonomous interaction across Web3.

Vincent Launch & Agent Framework

Lit Protocol: Programmable Agent Infrastructure Goes Live

In May 2025, Lit Protocol launched Vincent, a secure wallet delegation framework that lets users authorize AI agents to manage onchain activity within strict user-defined limits. Built on Lit’s threshold cryptography network, Vincent enables developers to ship AI agents and onchain automations with decentralized key management and user-owned permission systems. On September 3, Vincent entered early access, opening the platform to all users and developers for the first time.

Vincent’s architecture consists of four composable primitives:

• Vincent Accounts: Non-custodial smart accounts secured by the Lit network. These accounts act as the signing layer for all agent activity.
• Abilities: Stateless and reusable functions that agents can call (e.g., “borrow on Aave” or “swap on Uniswap”). Abilities encapsulate smart contract calls and are explicitly permissioned by users.
• Policies: Onchain, user-defined guardrails that constrain how and when Abilities can be executed. Policies support logic such as multisig approvals, spending limits, and scheduling.
• Apps: Bundled agents that use a predefined set of Abilities and Policies to automate specific tasks (e.g., DeFi strategies, account recovery, delegated governance).

Vincent apps operate locally or in trusted compute environments and interface with Lit Actions, encrypted JavaScript snippets that request signing from the Lit network using threshold cryptography. This architecture allows agents to perform secure, permissioned operations without centralized custody or cloud-based key infrastructure.

With the early access launch in September, Vincent became publicly accessible to users and developers via the Vincent console and SDK.

Key early access features include:

• Vincent Yield: Vincent’s flagship app that automatically routes stablecoins to onchain yield sources. Funds remain under decentralized custody, with earnings and APY visible in the user dashboard.
• Vincent Developer Dashboard: A unified interface to build and register Vincent apps, manage Abilities and Policies, and interface with developer tools.
• Starter Repo for Developers: A set of examples for developers to use as a jumping-off point when designing their own Abilities and Policies.

Developers can use Vincent to create agents that interact with protocols like Aave, Morpho, Uniswap, and deBridge. These agents are governed by explicit permissions and constraints, ensuring non-custodial design by default. Wallet providers can integrate Vincent to offer branded agent ecosystems, yield vaults, and agent marketplaces.

Token Generation Event

Lit Protocol is preparing for a major milestone with the launch of LITKEY, the native token that will coordinate, secure, and govern the network. The Token Generation Event (TGE) is scheduled for Q4 2025, marking the start of Lit’s transition into a token-incentivized and community-coordinated infrastructure layer.

LITKEY plays three distinct roles within the protocol:

• Work Token: Node operators are required to stake LITKEY to participate in the network’s threshold cryptographic operations. Staking enforces liveness and incentivizes performance, with slashing penalties for unresponsiveness and reward mechanisms tied to stake-weight and time-locked commitment periods.
• Payment Token: Applications and users pay for signing, encryption, and computing services using LITKEY. It also serves as the gas token for Lit Chain, Lit’s Arbitrum Orbit-based coordination layer.
• Governance Token: Token holders can participate in protocol governance, helping select node operators and shape the evolution of Lit through parameter adjustments, grant funding, and integration approvals.

Ahead of the TGE, Lit hosted a community presale from March 24–28, 2025, raising $1.1 million from over 275 participants across 53 countries. The sale was facilitated through Legion and marked an important step in community distribution.

The LITKEY token supply will follow the distribution outlined below:

• Ecosystem Incentives (41.1%): Used for grants, validator rewards, ecosystem growth initiatives, and ongoing protocol development.
• Development Team (29.1%): Allocated to core contributors at Workgraph Inc., subject to a four-year linear vesting schedule with a one-year lock following the TGE.
• Investors (16.0%): Reserved for strategic and early backers, also subject to a four-year linear vesting schedule with a one-year lock.
• Public Sale (6.0%): Distributed through public offerings, including the community presale.
• Private Sale (3.0%): Allocated to selected partners and early supporters under private agreements.
• Ecosystem Airdrop (4.8%): Distributed to early users, testnet node operators, Vincent contributors, and participants in quests such as The Ciphernaut’s Path.

The TGE activates the full functionality of the Lit cryptonetwork. As staking, governance, and application-level payments go live, LITKEY becomes central to Lit Protocol’s transition from testnet infrastructure to a sovereign, decentralized coordination layer.

Naga Mainnet Launch

Following the LITKEY TGE, Lit Protocol will activate its V1 mainnet, Naga, the successor to the Datil Mainnet Beta. Naga introduces governance and network metering through the LITKEY token and upgrades Lit Protocol’s developer ecosystem.

Validator Selection

Node operator selection for Naga’s genesis validator set is community-driven. The top 10 validators will be chosen through a staking and delegation contest, based on total stake-weight. This includes self-staked LITKEY, delegated tokens, and lock duration. Chosen operators must meet minimum self-stake requirements (estimated 100,000 LITKEY), pass identity verification, and operate compliant infrastructure. Once the set is finalized, a Distributed Key Generation (DKG) process will commence, initializing the network’s cryptographic state and bringing the Naga mainnet online.

Developer Ecosystem

Ahead of mainnet, Lit launched the Naga Devnet and SDK v8, a complete rewrite of the Lit developer toolkit. The SDK includes support for new signing curves, streamlined APIs for user and session management, and interactive documentation for faster onboarding. Developers currently building on Datil can optionally migrate; both networks will operate in parallel post-launch.

Protocol Enhancements in Lit V1

Naga will introduce several core improvements that enhance Lit Protocol’s scalability, interoperability, and developer experience:

• New Payments Model: Lit’s prior credit-based system will be replaced with a usage-based payment model that simplifies how developers pay for signing, compute, and encryption. The update introduces clearer cost visibility, optional spending limits, and streamlined user billing.
• Expanded Cryptographic Support: SDK v8 adds support for new signing curves, including EdDSA, improving cross-chain compatibility and enabling developers to target a broader set of ecosystems and cryptographic standards.
• Optimized Performance: Core improvements to key generation, signing latency, and network communication significantly boost application responsiveness. These changes enhance support for time-sensitive workflows and agent-based systems.
• Improved User and Session Management: A reworked API for managing identity and session states reduces integration complexity. Developers can now create persistent sessions and handle authentication lifecycles with fewer lines of code.
• Enhanced Error Handling: Clearer error messages, actionable feedback, and more robust logging simplify the development process and reduce time-to-resolution for bugs and integration issues.

Closing Summary

Lit Protocol’s transition to mainnet marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of decentralized infrastructure. By combining threshold cryptography, programmable agents, and a robust developer framework, Lit moves beyond key management to become a general-purpose coordination layer for secure, autonomous execution across Web3.

With the introduction of Vincent, Lit establishes a modular framework for AI- and user-driven automation, underpinned by cryptographic guardrails and onchain policy enforcement. The LITKEY token and Naga mainnet bring decentralized incentives, governance, and production-grade performance to this architecture, enabling a broad spectrum of use cases across DeFi, identity, AI, and beyond.

As decentralized applications increasingly rely on automation, cross-chain coordination, and cryptographic security, Lit Protocol introduces a framework designed to support these requirements without centralized intermediaries. Its integration of threshold signing, policy-based permissions, and agent infrastructure provides a technical foundation for building secure and programmable systems. With the launch of its token and mainnet, Lit introduces new governance mechanisms, an improved developer experience, and opens the doors for a new world of autonomous onchian agents.

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