Proof before account

The central product principle is proof-before-account activation. No signup form, no email verification, no API-key dashboard, and no payment method before first value.

agent discovers kestrel.markets
  → receives an ephemeral trial capability
  → explores the free catalog
  → authors and validates Kestrel
  → runs sim Sessions
  → receives certified Blotters and Grades
  → proves value (shareable proof URLs)
  → encounters a paid boundary (HTTP 402 with a structured Offer)
  → settles by agent wallet, or asks its human to claim/fund the workspace
  → resumes from the exact boundary, losing nothing

The human enters only when the agent delegates payment to them, or when a concrete identity-bound, broker, or live request requires their signature.

The trial is not a toy

Trial capabilities are anonymous, ephemeral, and rate-limited — but free executions run the real deterministic Session path: fail-closed parsing, certified outputs. The activation URL renders the actual work the agent already completed — its proof — never a generic pricing page.

Next: how a paid boundary is expressed and settled in Offers & payment.