Agent-Centric Currency Framework

Decentralized Monetary Protocol

An agent-centric protocol grammar in which each participant maintains a personal source chain of cryptographically-signed entries and validates peers through a shared distributed hash table, with no global consensus or shared ledger. Currencies are defined as application-layer specifications (hApps) atop the substrate, enabling 'roll-your-own currency' designs spanning mutual credit, reputation, gift, and reciprocal exchange patterns without requiring a global monetary state. Prototype: Holochain.

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Details

License

Libre (CAL 1.0 - Cryptographic Autonomy License). https://github.com/holochain/holochain

Dev Status 🟢 Active

Dev Status Detail

Released; Holochain 2.0 line in active development.

Owner

Holochain Foundation (Switzerland); core stewards include Eric Harris-Braun, Arthur Brock, and Paul d'Aoust.

Owner - List

Holochain Foundation

Country

Switzerland (Foundation) / United States (early development).

Start Year 2017

Stack

Rust (core); WebAssembly (hApp runtime); JavaScript/TypeScript bindings.

Funding

ICO (2018); Holochain Foundation grants; community contribution.

Funding - List

Holochain Foundation

Last Investigated Jul 1, 2026

Topology view

This tool in the centre and the things it is directly related to. Each line names the kind of relationship.

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Use Case Domains

Platform Evolution & Sovereignty

Affordances

Local-first storage

Data portability

Self-hostable

Decentralized Monetary Protocol Attributes

Owner - List

Holochain Foundation

Origins

Mutual credit revival / agent-centric computing research; predecessor MetaCurrency Project (2004-) by Brock and Harris-Braun.

Data Formats

Source chain entries (signed, hash-linked); DHT entries; CAP signatures; Application-defined entry types per hApp.

Terms

Self-hosting; conductor runs on user devices.

Funding - List

Holochain Foundation

Funds

Approximately $20M raised in 2018 ICO; subsequent funding figures undisclosed.

Based On

Original architecture; conceptual ancestry in Brock and Harris-Braun's MetaCurrency Project and Eric Harris-Braun's Wealth Typology.

Permissions

Per-hApp validation rules; participants validate peers; no global gatekeeper.

Smart Contract

No — agent-centric validation replaces smart contract execution model.

Development Tools

Holochain CLI (hc), Lair Keystore, Holochain Launcher, Tryorama (testing), hApp scaffolding tools.

Protocol Maturity / Standardization

Community Standard; Holochain 2.0 white paper published as authoritative specification.

Trust Framework

Cryptographic signatures on source chains; peer validation through DHT; application-defined membrane rules per hApp; no global consensus.

Target Application Domain

Mutual credit networks, reputation systems, cooperative coordination, regenerative economies, agent reputation.

Game-Acceptance Position

Modify-Additive — substrate for plural complementary currencies coexisting with national money.

Accumulation Regime

Inherits parent (depends on currency designed atop the framework); the substrate itself imposes no accumulation regime.

Coordination Mechanism

Tacit-emergent — protocol substrate enables agents to define their own coordination per hApp.

Issuance Model

Per-agent (cryptographic self-issuance); each agent maintains a personal source chain.

Value-Signal Type

Inherits issuing currency; framework supports plural rational units, time-based units, and contribution scores depending on hApp design.

Federation Pattern

Peer-to-peer mesh; hApp-to-hApp interoperability via bridges.

Substrate Independence

Agent-centric runtime native.

Relationships

How this tool connects to other tools and organizations, from relationships reviewed by the OpenHaven data steward. They describe how projects connect, not how good they are.

Based on: Holochain
Developed by: Holochain Foundation
Funded by: Holochain Foundation