Gordian Clubs

P2P Protocol

Specification and reference implementation for autonomous cryptographic objects (ACOs) — self-contained Gordian Envelopes that bundle content, cryptographic permits (SSKR shares, FROST thresholds, XID keys, public keys, passwords), and provenance marks. Clubs operate without servers or network connectivity: anyone holding a valid permit can open the envelope using cryptography alone. Clubs publish Editions linked by provenance marks and signed individually or by a FROST publishing group, enabling autonomous group coordination, access-controlled data distribution, and offline-resilient communication. Inspired by Project Xanadus 1991 Clubs concept

Community
Links
Visit Community

Details

License BSD-2-Clause Plus Patent License (clubs-rust, clubs-cli-rust)
Dev Status 🟢 Active
Dev Status Detail Beta / community review — clubs-rust library and clubs-cli-rust reference implementation released; first working proof-of-concept demonstrated Oct 2025
Owner Blockchain Commons LLC (not-for-profit benefit corporation founded by Christopher Allen, April 25, 2019; Berkeley, California). Lead Researcher: Wolf McNally
Country USA (Berkeley, California)
Start Year 2025
Stack Rust (clubs-rust core library; clubs-cli-rust command-line interface)
Funding Blockchain Commons donations and patron sponsorships (GitHub Sponsors, BTCPay)
Last Investigated Jul 1, 2026

Use Case Domains

Platform Evolution & Sovereignty

P2P Protocol Attributes

Origins Blockchain Commons (built atop the Gordian stack: Envelope, dCBOR, UR)
Data Formats Gordian Envelope (CBOR-based smart documents)
Native Apps CLI tool (clubs-cli-rust); library bindings for application integration
Terms Open source, free to use
Based On Gordian Envelope; dCBOR; SSKR; FROST threshold signatures; Provenance Marks; XID; ChaCha20-Poly1305
P2P Architecture Object-based (not network-based) — Clubs are autonomous cryptographic objects that can be transmitted via any channel (email, USB, QR code, BitTorrent, IPFS); no inherent network protocol
Content Addressing Provenance marks chain Editions cryptographically; SHA-256 Merkle digests via Gordian Envelope
Local-First Yes — fully offline-capable; no servers, no phoning home, no external verification required
E2EE Yes — encryption via permits using ChaCha20-Poly1305; multiple permits can coexist allowing different parties to access the same content via different cryptographic paths
Signature Schnorr / FROST threshold signatures for Editions; individual or group publishing
Permissions Cryptographic permits: symmetric keys, password-stretched keys, public keys, SSKR shares, FROST multisig thresholds, XID keys; emerging quantum-resistant options
Protocol Stack Position Application layer — autonomous group coordination and access-controlled data distribution
Protocol Maturity / Standardization Pre-standardization — reference implementation phase; integration with Hubert (BCR-2025-006) for asynchronous coordination