custodial agent

Definition

An agent owned by an individual who has granted signing authority to a custodian who is usually also the host of the running agent software. Using partial rotation to facilitate custodial key management the owner of the identifier retains rotational authority and thus the ability to "fire" the custodian at any time without requiring the cooperation of the custodian.

Importance

Custodial Agents are important for individuals who may not be comfortable managing their own signing keys and agent software but still want to participate in a decentralized identity ecosystem and they enable a software as a service business model without centralizing control on the service provider.
(Source: Philip Feairheller)

Key functionality

Since ninety-nine percent of people in the world might not feel comfortable taking responsibility for their own practical key management but still want to be stay in control over their assets and be able to hire and fire service providers, this functionality is considered a key feature for KERI and ACDC.