Nunchuk has rolled out open-source tools designed to let AI agents perform Bitcoin tasks — like sending payments and managing wallets — without handing them full control of users’ funds.
In a blog post Wednesday, the multisignature wallet provider said the new release gives developers a way to attach “bounded authority” to AI agents: the software lets agents operate inside predefined spending rules, while users keep custody of their private keys. The code is published under an MIT license and split into two repositories: Nunchuk CLI and Agent Skills for Nunchuk CLI.
Why this matters
Current solutions, Nunchuk founder and CEO Hugo Nguyen told Decrypt, either give an agent complete control of a standalone wallet or rely on delegated signing that lets the agent act fully on a user’s behalf. “The problem with both is the same: once the agent is set up, there's no meaningful check on what it can do with your money. If it's compromised, misconfigured, or just makes a bad call, nothing stops it,” Nguyen said.
How it works
- Nunchuk CLI: a command-line interface that enables AI agents to interact with shared multisignature wallets while keeping private keys under user control. Agents can perform actions within limits; any transaction above a configured spending threshold requires a human signature.
- Agent Skills: an interface layer that lets AI models call the CLI for everyday operations — wallet setup, wallet creation, inviting participants, configuring policies, and initiating transactions.
Crucially, the system separates funding from spending authority: depositing Bitcoin into a wallet does not automatically expand an agent’s permission to spend it. Spending is governed by configurable policies such as hard limits, approval steps, or enforced delays. The underlying wallets are multisig accounts, meaning multiple keys must sign transactions — a familiar model for self-custody and shared control.
Background and target audience
Launched in 2020, Nunchuk is an open-source mobile Bitcoin wallet focused on multisignature security, self-custody, and features like inheritance planning. With this release, Nunchuk is targeting developers building systems that combine AI automation with human oversight — teams that want agents to have meaningful financial capabilities without exposing funds to unconstrained risk. “They want to give their agents real financial capabilities, but handing them an unconstrained wallet isn't something they're comfortable with,” Nguyen said.
Implications
As AI agents are increasingly used to automate financial workflows — payroll, payroll-like payouts, treasury operations, merchant automation, or personal finance assistants — tools that enforce human-in-the-loop controls and split powers between funding and spending could become a standard safety layer. Nunchuk’s open-source approach makes it available for developers to build and iterate on secure agent-driven Bitcoin workflows.
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