Getting Started with ACE
ACE enforces compliance in two ways. Start with what you need:
- Block non-compliant transactions in a contract you build or can upgrade: use the preventive managers, Policy Manager and Identity Manager.
- Monitor addresses and react when their risk changes on a token you already run, without changing its contract: use Active Monitoring.
- Both: the two modes complement each other and share the same setup.
See Preventive and Continuous Compliance for the differences.
ACE offers four managers. Choose the path that matches what you need to do:
Manager | What it does | Get started |
|---|---|---|
| Policy Manager | Attach and configure compliance policies on smart contracts — volume limits, allowlists, RBAC, identity-based checks, and more | Policy Manager Quick Start |
| Identity Manager | Manage identity registries, register cross-chain identities (CCIDs), and issue credentials such as Proof of Identity or accreditation attestations | Identity Manager Quick Start |
| Active Monitoring | Screen the addresses you choose with TRM on a schedule, and record, flag, or enforce an onchain action when their risk changes, on tokens you already run | Active Monitoring Quick Start |
| Reporting Manager | Query on-chain transaction history, policy configurations, and identity states via a read-only API for compliance verification | Reporting concepts — API Reference |
Shared first step
All managers require account setup first — creating your organization, sharing your Org ID for enablement, generating an API key, and setting up CRE Connect Wallets:
- Account Setup — the four steps every ACE user completes before using any manager
Not sure which Manager you need?
- If you are a token issuer or protocol team deciding which compliance rules to enforce, start with the Policy Manager Quick Start.
- If you are an identity provider (IDV) or credential issuer, or sanctions data provider supplying data for others to consume, start with the Identity Manager Quick Start.
- If your token is already deployed and you want to screen its holders and react to risk changes without changing the contract, start with the Active Monitoring Quick Start.
- Many organizations use more than one manager. Start with whichever is most relevant to your first use case — the guides cross-reference each other where the workflows intersect.
Background reading
Before diving in, these pages provide essential context:
- Signing & Ownership Model — how ACE manages keys and the delegated and self-signing models
- ACE Architecture — system components and how they connect
- Key Terms — ACE-specific terminology
- Preventive and Continuous Compliance — the two ways ACE enforces compliance
- Beta Scope — what is and is not available during the Beta program