diff --git a/ucan/proof_chain.go b/ucan/proof_chain.go
index e4e2de0..2e7795f 100644
--- a/ucan/proof_chain.go
+++ b/ucan/proof_chain.go
@@ -99,12 +99,21 @@ func proofChain(ctx context.Context, matchDelegations DelegationMatcherFunc, aud
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, nil, err
 		}
-		if d.Subject() == d.Issuer() {
+		// A delegation is a valid root when its issuer is the invocation
+		// subject we're chaining toward. This covers two cases:
+		//   1. Self-issued: d.Issuer() == d.Subject() == sub (e.g. space
+		//      delegating power over itself to an agent).
+		//   2. Powerline: d.Issuer() == sub && d.Subject() == did.Undef
+		//      (e.g. an account delegating to an agent without specifying
+		//      a subject — common for did:mailto accounts after login).
+		// The matcher only returns delegations where d.Subject() matches
+		// sub or is did.Undef, so we only need to check the issuer here.
+		if d.Issuer() == sub {
 			proofs = append(proofs, d)
 			links = append(links, d.Link())
 			break
 		}
-		// if subject is nil, or subject != issuer, we need more proof
+		// otherwise the chain needs another hop back toward sub
 		ps, ls, err := proofChain(ctx, matchDelegations, d.Issuer(), d.Command(), sub)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, nil, err
diff --git a/ucan/proof_chain_test.go b/ucan/proof_chain_test.go
index 999133f..2006c0a 100644
--- a/ucan/proof_chain_test.go
+++ b/ucan/proof_chain_test.go
@@ -162,6 +162,31 @@ func TestProofChain_Powerline(t *testing.T) {
 	assertChain(t, proofs, links, []ucan.Delegation{root, powerline})
 }
 
+// TestProofChain_PowerlineRoot covers the case where the only delegation in
+// the chain is a powerline issued by the invocation subject itself (the
+// resource owner). This is the shape produced by sprue's access/confirm
+// flow for a did:mailto account: account → agent with did.Undef subject.
+// Without explicit handling, the recursion looks for a parent of the
+// account-issued delegation, finds none, and returns an empty chain —
+// causing the server to reject the invocation as "issued by non-subject
+// with no proofs."
+func TestProofChain_PowerlineRoot(t *testing.T) {
+	account := testutil.RandomSigner(t)
+	agent := testutil.Alice
+	cmd := testutil.Must(command.Parse("/test/do"))(t)
+
+	// account → agent powerline (no subject). The account is the resource
+	// owner; this single delegation IS the proof chain.
+	dlg := testutil.Must(delegation.Delegate(account, agent.DID(), did.Undef, cmd))(t)
+
+	finder := &memLister{delegations: []ucan.Delegation{dlg}}
+	matcher := ucanlib.NewDelegationMatcher(finder.List)
+
+	proofs, links, err := ucanlib.ProofChain(t.Context(), matcher, agent.DID(), cmd, account.DID())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assertChain(t, proofs, links, []ucan.Delegation{dlg})
+}
+
 func TestProofChain_UnrelatedCommandIgnored(t *testing.T) {
 	space := testutil.RandomSigner(t)
 	alice := testutil.Alice