Where Bulla fits
Communication protocols move tasks. Telemetry records an operator’s view. Identity authenticates a signer. Transparency services retain statements. Bulla asks a different question: What did the receiver agree to rely on, and what may happen next?
Reviewed 2026-08-20. The table distinguishes protocol roles; it is not a ranking. Every relationship shown is conceptual unless an implemented adapter is named.
| Protocol or layer | Primary question | Bulla’s distinct question | Relationship | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A2A and MCP | How do agents communicate with other agents, tools, and data sources? | Bulla records a consequential handoff for retention, local verification, receiver policy, and reconciliation. | Conceptually complementaryNo adapter claimed | |
| OpenTelemetry GenAI conventions | What did one application or operator observe about model, workflow, and tool operations? | Bulla gives the receiving party a separate transaction record and compares receipts with a supplied receiver-side action record. | Conceptually complementaryNo adapter claimed | |
| Agent Receipt Protocol | Can an agent action leave a signed, tamper-evident record and receipt chain? | Bulla additionally models the receiving party's verification context, explicit reliance policy, and coverage relative to a supplied action record. | Conceptually adjacentNo adapter claimed | |
| AAS-1 | Can an auditor evaluate agent records and issue a determination over an engagement? | Bulla records one transaction for retention and policy evaluation by the receiving system before another consequential action. | Conceptually adjacentNo adapter claimed | |
| Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) | How does agent-mediated commerce carry payment authorization mandates and transaction receipts? | Bulla addresses generic consequential handoffs, including deployments, permissions, data changes, service delivery, and payments. | Conceptually complementaryNo adapter claimed | |
| SCITT | Did a signed statement enter a transparent, verifiable history? | Bulla defines transaction-specific authority, evidence, reliance, coverage, and challenge semantics; transparency can support a separate witnessing layer. | Conceptually complementaryNo adapter claimed |
Composition requires an explicit adapter
A protocol can supply transport messages, telemetry, identity material, payment evidence, or transparency proofs without automatically satisfying a Bulla verification context. An implementation must name the accepted fields, trust roots, evidence class, and failure behavior.