For years, “code is law” served as the rallying cry of a new digital frontier — a promise that rules, once written, would enforce themselves like clockwork. In the early architecture of Web3, smart contracts became the bedrock of this ideal, enabling permissionless innovation and giving rise to decentralized finance (DeFi).
As the ecosystem matured, the code’s fairness and determinism often came at the cost of clarity. For non-technical users, interacting with smart contracts felt like trying to read a manual in a foreign language while pressing buttons at random.
In response, the blockchain industry began to simplify its operations. Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens introduced asset issuance through plain-text rules, significantly lowering the technical barrier to entry. Some platforms even allowed users to create tokens without writing a single line of code.
Rather than relying on custom-deployed smart contracts, many projects began launching assets through template-based systems, prioritizing accessibility over flexibility. With the industry growing, questions emerged in developers’ minds: Can smart contracts move beyond rigid code and evolve into something more conversational and user-friendly? Can smart contracts be made easier to understand without sacrificing their flexibility or security?
Prompt is law
With the limitations of code-only smart contracts becoming increasingly apparent, a new wave of blockchain infrastructure projects is rethinking the very foundations of contract logic. Rooch Network, a modular execution layer built in the Move programming language, is among them.
Initially designed for data-intensive, composable applications, Rooch offers a platform where smart contracts do more than executing static code — they can store memory, evolve and interface with large language models (LLMs). An ambitious initiative by the project, Project Nuwa, builds directly on this foundation.
Nuwa reimagines smart contracts as language-driven systems. Rather than writing logic in code, users define behavior using prompts — simple natural language instructions that AI agents can interpret and act on. This concept lies at the heart of Nuwa’s “prompt is law” model.
Each agent is launched with a system prompt, retains memory of prior interactions and uses an LLM to process and respond to user input. Instead of invoking functions through complex interfaces, users simply talk to the agent, much like messaging on Discord or Telegram. Every exchange is recorded onchain, ensuring transparency and traceability.
The result is a new class of smart contract: human-readable and capable of interacting with users in ways that code alone struggles to achieve.
How prompt-driven smart contracts work
Nuwa’s architecture combines natural language input, agent memory and onchain execution across three integrated layers.
It begins with deployment: users launch autonomous agents using Rooch’s Move-based framework. Each agent exists as a smart contract account initialized with a system prompt that defines its role and behavior.
Agents connect to LLMs through an oracle layer. While current implementations rely on centralized AI providers like OpenAI, cryptographic techniques such as zkTLS are being explored to verify the authenticity of each interaction.
Finally, every agent operates within its dedicated onchain chatroom. Users can engage with agents directly, much like chatting in a messaging app. The system records all conversations — including user inputs, agent responses and resulting actions — immutably onchain.
But these agents are not just conversational interfaces; they function as autonomous, self-contained digital actors. Once deployed, they cannot be reprogrammed; agents maintain memory and follow their original logic based on a defined set of constraints.
To test the concept, the Nuwa team developed several prototypes, each with its own personality and behavioral logic. Prototypes ranged from NeverTransfer, which refused all fund transfers under any condition, to Gollum, a Tolkien-inspired agent that hoarded assets and resisted persuasion. Other examples included TrustedPay, which was limited to whitelisted addresses, and CryptoCaishen, which distributed tokens based on randomized “luck values.”
The Nuwa team stress-tested each agent for consistency and resistance to manipulation. Most performed as expected, maintaining behavioral integrity and resisting user influence. In one case, a clever prompt injection succeeded, leading the team to redesign the underlying safeguards.
These tests demonstrated more than technical robustness. They proved that AI agents can act as logic-bound participants in financial environments, interpreting language and adapting to real-world user interactions.
Contracts become companions
Prompt-based agents do more than streamlining smart contract interactions — they change how users engage with decentralized systems. Instead of navigating rigid interfaces, users interact with autonomous agents that make decisions based on defined prompts.
The use cases stretch far beyond proof-of-concept. In DeFi, agents could autonomously manage portfolios or execute complex strategies. In gaming, these tools might serve as persistent non-player characters (NPCs) with narrative awareness. Within decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), agents could act as impartial treasurers or onchain voting delegates.
Project Nuwa offers a glimpse into what the next generation of smart contracts may represent — blurring the line between code and cognition by combining natural language with programmable logic.
As frameworks like Nuwa gain adoption, Web3 could shift from static, developer-written contracts to intelligent agents, each acting with purpose, authority and clarity. With this in mind, Rooch plans to open-source the Nuwa protocol, inviting developers, researchers and creators to experiment and expand the model.
In a world increasingly shaped by intelligent systems, smart contracts are evolving from written code to spoken, negotiated agreements. In the process, blockchains may begin to resemble dynamic societies rather than static ledgers.
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