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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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.
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.
Last Investigated Jul 1, 2026

Use Case Domains

Platform Evolution & Sovereignty

Decentralized Monetary Protocol Attributes

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.
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.