Crypto Commons Economy Framework — Iteration 1.0
By Giulio Quarta — Co-Founder and Ecosystem Strategist at Crypto Commons Association.
2024 EDIT: This article has been published long ago and the new direction for the project, the Commons Economy Roadmap, is now in motion. Register to our newsletter to keep updated on CER’s activities!
We are living through a moment of deep systemic crisis, so demanding and complex that even for the strongest appreciators of humans’ beauty, of our outstanding collective capacity to organise, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
This Crypto Commons Economy Framework we present for the first time to the public is both a visual representation and a pragmatic development strategy of the emerging techno-economic infrastructures we need if we want to face one of our darkest moments as a civilization.
Simplified explanation of what we are talking about : Crypto Commons (from now on CC) are a new category of digital commons emerging in the context of the blockchain/DLT technologies. They can be base layer protocols, applications built on top of them as well as tools and mechanisms used in their design and testing. In contrast to non-blockchain commons they usually make active use of market mechanisms and economic incentives in order to reward contributions of the stakeholders participating in the process of value generation. They open up the possibility of scaling the Commons of any kind beyond their current constraints , as they offer concrete infrastructures to build decentralized generative post-capitalist economies and more broadly post-capitalist democratic social systems.
To simplify it even more, the Crypto Commons we want are open distributed democratic generative cyber-physical infrastructures that empower Commoners and the Commons of the world. They are also infrastructures against what we don’t want : Big State (surveillance-powered dictatorships), Big Money (billionaires, huge banks, extractive corporations) and Big Tech (eastern and western centralized monopolies of the digital infrastructure) that we believe in the coming years will invest considerable energies in destroying what is decentralized and collectively owned by the people.
This framework purpose is to support the millions of people already working on the development of the Commons, to identify what is valuable and useful in the blockchain industry from a commonist perspective, to contribute and interact with the best emerging infrastructures, to avoid wasting energies in building something that already exist and fill the void in terms of what is missing
More details about our vision and values on our website!
You can also call this a (Crypto)Commons framework because our focus is on DLTs and blockchains but the outline includes in the same perspective all the Commons, as you will see in an extended map in the next iteration.
One could rightly ask in fact: where are the thousands of small and big non-blockchain open source projects that currently maintain our global stack in a critical way? Where are the thousands of DeFi protocols and entities that are developing key open public financial infrastructures? As we said, they can be inserted and probably will be in future iterations, the map wants to include all the agents working around the Commons. We limited ourselves to the Crypto Commons in this context for economy of space/time and also because we think and hope that these new infrastructures will progressively transform the majority of traditional commoning: for example, we hope that as the Commons Stack tools will become progressively more easy to use, traditional open source projects could adopt them to improve their organizational / governance / funding models.
We included some well established blockchains and projects as Cosmos or Prime DAO to show that DeFi has a place in this framework and also because we think these efforts are among the most Commons-oriented of the industry - aiming at radical openness and interoperability.
A note on ReFi (What is ReFi?) : we are strong supporters of the ReFi movement, as we have contributed to the ideation and launch of ReFi Spring 2022! You won’t find all the existing amazing projects in the map (in the following image you can see how populated the space already is) but from our point of view there is no substantial difference between CC and ReFi, they are just two different framing on the same holistic regeneration effort. At the moment, ReFi is mostly focused on ecology-oriented services.
In this initial iteration the parameters of what and how much we consider something “commons-oriented” aren’t explicated to avoid excessive complexity, but from the next iteration we’ll co-create a grid of parameters and some minimal corresponding quantification to begin a more sophisticated process of collective evaluation of projects!
Important note before finally starting: It’s “Iteration 1.0” because we want it to be an open and evolutionary collective process, please tell us what you think and thank you in advance for any feedback!
The Framework
The framework is composed of different elements: an ecosystem map -we strongly recommend reading this while looking at the miro map- structured around ecosystem layers and functions and populated by agents, existing projects in and outside of our network that according to our perspective fulfill these functions.
We find it useful to represent the existing projects as well as a “needs map” to identify where new projects or new configuration of available tools should/could be experimented! For example, Common Ground is the decentralized alternative to Discord; what about the decentralized alternative to Google and Microsoft suites? What about a Crypto Commons focused investment DAO?
In the last year we mostly pursued partnerships and collaborations with projects that fit in this framework -on the map, CCA partners are flagged with a star- organising events in our CCHub around this general vision (CCGathering 2021) or sub-dimensions of it (The ReFi Unconference on Regenerative Finance ; OurVerse Hackathon on the “Metaverse”).
We are not married to any project, our goal is to foster valuable connections between valuable people and projects that broadly share our vision. Wanna become a partner? Let’s chat!
Ecosystem Map:
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOrjgjkY=/
Ecosystem Layers:
I Level Infrastructures: Information Technology
II Level Infrastructures: Economics and Finance
III Level Infrastructures: Sector Specific (food, energy, health, contents)
Categorizing the global techno-economic stack in these 3 layers is clearly arbitrary and aimed at achieving simplicity in representation, it could be done in dozens of different ways all more or less useful; keep in mind that the goal is not “scientific” accuracy but having a usable map that balances comprehensibility and comprehensiveness.
All the layers are embedded in and interacting with the others in a non-linear way, they are not clearly hierarchical as it seems: for example, the information infrastructure is deeply informed by the economic infrastructures, and vice versa!
But we also think there is some “operative truth” is this hierarchy: while we need all the layers to be deployed, Informational Commons benefits all the agents in a very straightforward way, and the same could be said for the economic infrastructures. So, for example, from the point of view of an investor interested in making post-capitalism a reality, the “return for the Global Commons” in investing in the foundational layers would be bigger than -for example- funding a sector specific infrastructure. This is a important discussion we’ll surely develop in further blog posts, as well as in our physical event in Austria at the end of august, the Crypto Commons Gathering 2022 — contact us if you wanna join!
Ecosystem Functions:
All these categories are considered infrastructures in a broad sense. Technological infrastructures live thanks to complex networks of workers, users, institutions, cultures and symbolic realities, they are existentially embedded in social, economic, organizational, cultural structures and all the projects that are not “strictly technical” as CCI or CCC contribute to these vital dimensions. Also, these categories are just heuristics and most of the projects belong to more of one. “Projects” is used in a generic way too, and it include everything from discrete companies as well as global networks.
CC Infrastructure — CCI
Proper technical distributed infrastructures projects, allowing agents to interact on them or to run applications and services on top. All the blockchains are infrastructures in this sense, but not all of them will be considered CCI by this framework. All CCI are also CCC, but not vice versa.
Examples: Holochain, Ethereum, Cosmos, Nym
CC Curators — CCC
Projects which role is to technically maintain and existing CC technically, not necessarily created by them.
Examples: Commons Stack and every CCI
CC Service Providers — CCSP
Projects providing CC-based services on the market to profit or non profit agents, or having CC infrastructures as core elements of their business model.
Examples: EthicHub, World Mobile, FoxFire
De/Centralized CC Optimizers — CCO
Projects that optimize value flows “centralizing” one or more operative dimensions of a layer-specific or sector-specific ecosystem, by becoming relevant “nodes” but not harmful intermediaries. They are considered CC as far as their “centralization intensity” is balanced by democratic/decentralize control.
Examples: ReFi DAO, Crypto Commons Association
CC Empowerers — CCE
Projects that foster the general development of CC through education, research and everything in between. In this framework only the ones that have specific and meaningful expertise are considered.
Examples: Urbanika, Token Engineering Commons, Curve Labs
CC Funders — CCF
Projects of financial nature which main purpose is to fund new or existing projects in the realm of Crypto Commoning, even if not explicitly calling them in this way.
Examples: Interchain Foundation, Gitcoin
Commons Stewards — CS
Commons Stewards (not present in the map) are local and bio-regional communities, localized or distributed networks of commoners, commons and commoning. They are the foundational unit, the reason why all the other agents exist and perform their functions: we are building amazing technology to help the people in their local contexts mantaining, restoring, regenerating, protecting, evolving their selves and their Commons.
Ecosystem Agents
- Commons Stack : I/II — CC Curator / CC Service Provider
Commons Stack builds and curates a set of software commons through which Commons Stewards can design their own economy and govern their resources. They can also become or enable CCSP as them or more specialized agents provide their tools implementation as a service on the market. https://twitter.com/commonsstack
- Regen Network : II — CC Infrastructure (partner: general sponsor of the CCA/CCH)
Regen Network aims at becoming an open interoperable distributed ledger for the Commons Stewards of the world to issue their own ecological asset tokens, allowing a better governing of their natural commons and taking financial advantage of the opportunities provided by the market (carbon / biodiversity credits markets). https://twitter.com/regen_network
- Token Engineering Commons : I/II — CC Curator / CC Empowerer
Token Engineering Commons builds and curates the primitives and standards around the emergent discipline of token design, also providing different education formats on the field. https://twitter.com/tecmns
- Urbánika: I/II/III — CC Empowerers (partner)
Urbánika is an immersive video guide -proudly powered by the Crypto Commons Association- that will take students on a journey of learning how to use decentralized coordination tools and techniques to successfully applying for regenerating their public spaces and re-imagining cities. https://twitter.com/0xUrbanika
- Holochain : I — CC Infrastructure (partner: sponsor of CCG21 and CCG22)
Holochain is building distributed applications and the distributed network in which they could run that provides hosting power, in a post-blockchain framework. https://twitter.com/holochain
- EthicHub: II /III— CC Infrastructures (partner: general sponsor of the CCA/CCH)
EthicHub is a DeFi/ReFi protocol connecting unbanked smallholder farmers with yield farmers and lenders globally. https://twitter.com/EthicHub
- BlockScience : I/II — CC Empowerers / CC Service Providers
BlockScience is a research, development and consulting/design center that works at the edges of cryptoeconomics innovation, covering all the dimensions from mathematical and social research to the concrete application of the tools. https://twitter.com/block_science
- Interchain Foundation: I/II — CC Funder / CC Empowerers
Interchain Foundation promotes and invests in the development of fundamental interoperable infrastructures, the Cosmos Blockchain and its ecosystem. https://twitter.com/interchain_io
- Cosmos: I/II — CC Infrastructures
The Cosmos blockchain is simply one of the most open, interoperable and interoperable chains. https://twitter.com/cosmos
- Curve Labs: I/II — CC Curators / CC Empowerers
Curve Labs is an innovation network working with Web3 primitives to design, develop and improve blockchain-native organizations. https://twitter.com/curvelabs
- Kolektivo Labs — CC Empowerers / CC Service Providers
Kolektivo Labs leverages the latest web3 technologies to shape a world where human coordination pivots radical change. https://twitter.com/KolektivoLabs
- FoxFire: II — CC Service Providers / CC Empowerers (partner)
FoxFire is an emerging loose network of Commons-Oriented token designers committed to #realvalue, core supporters of the Crypto Commons Association. Contact Scott Morris https://twitter.com/CS_Morris or Moritz Bierling https://twitter.com/bierlingm to know more!
- Nym: I — CC Infrastructures
The Nym mixnet is a decentralized multi purpose mixnet that prevents traffic analysis by an adversary capable of watching the entire network, allowing the anonymization of communications and transactions. https://twitter.com/nymproject
- Credit Commons Protocol: II — CC Infrastructures
The Credit Commons Protocol supports independent entities to keep track of their exchange on a ledger which they control. Ledgers can be recursively nested, allowing trading blocs of all scales to exchange with each other without using money. https://creditcommons.net/
- Common Ground: I - CC Infrastructures
Common Ground wanna be the decentralized alternative to Discord, a web3-native messaging and voice chat platform, built as a public good https://www.commonground.cg/
- ReFi DAO : III — CC Optimizers
ReFi DAO is an emergent DAO aimed at connecting, funding and empowering the emergent ReFi movement. https://twitter.com/ReFiDAOist
- Circles UBI: II — CC Infrastructures (partner)
Circles UBI is a blockchain-based Universal Basic Income scheme, aimed at empowering local communities and their economies. https://twitter.com/CirclesUBI
- Giveth: II — CC Service Providers
Giveth is a decentralized platform for donations transforming the way we fund public goods. https://twitter.com/Givethio
- Distrikt: I — CC Infrastructures
Distrikt is a professional social media network for professionals, respecting of users privacy and data. https://twitter.com/DistriktApp
- IXO Internet of Impact: II/III — CC Infrastructures / CC Service Providers
The IXO Protocol defines the new standard for making Verifiable Impact Claims about how people and organisations are changing the state of the world, using high-definition data as evidence. https://twitter.com/ixoworld
- ECSA: I/II — CC Infrastructures / CC Empowerers
The Economic Space Agency is building a peer-to-peer economic networking protocol which is open and free to use and gives everyone equal capacities of economic and organizational expression. https://twitter.com/ecospaceagency
- Doingud: III — CC Service Providers
DoinGud is an NFT ecosystem empowering creators, collectors, curators, and communities to do good. https://twitter.com/DoinGudHQ
- Agency: II/III — CC Infrastructures
Agency is a decentralised network of agents, research ing, investing and reporting on trends that create impact. https://www.agency.gives/
- P2P Foundation: I/II — CC Empowerers
The P2P Foundation is a research group observing the impact of peer-to-peer technology and thought on society. https://twitter.com/P2P_Foundation
- Telos Blockchain: I/II — CC Infrastructures
Telos is one of the fastest and sustainable blockchain https://twitter.com/HelloTelos
- MetaGame: I/II — CC Infrastructures / CC Empowerers
MetaGame is a DAO building a massive online coordination game about finding the most optimal ways to play life on a personal as well as the collective level. https://twitter.com/MetaFam
- Raiz Vertical Farms: III — CC Service Providers
Raiz is building a network of Vertical Farms, powered by and community-owned through the blockchain. https://twitter.com/RaizFarms
- Matrix: I — CC Infrastructures
Matrix is an open standard for decentralised secure communication. https://twitter.com/matrixdotorg
- Breadchain Cooperative: II — CC Infrastructures / CC Empowerers
Breadchain is a community of decentralized, cooperatives projects building solidarity primitives.
- Gitcoin: II — CC Empowerers / CC Funders
Gitcoin is a DAO aimed at funding builders of the open source, collaborative, and economically empowering internet. https://twitter.com/gitcoin
- Prime DAO: I/II — CC Infrastructures
Prime DAO is an ecosystem focused on building DAO2DAO tools and infrastructures. https://twitter.com/PrimeDAO_
- OASA: III — CC Infrastructures
OASA wants to be a blockchain-using newtork of regenerative ecovillages, Traditional Dream Factory in Portugal being the first of these experimentations. https://twitter.com/oasaliving
- Prosume: III — CC Infrastructures
Prosume is an energy data management blockchain-based platform https://twitter.com/ProsumeEnergy
OASA wants to be a blockchain-using newtork of regenerative ecovillages, Traditional Dream Factory in Portugal being the first of these experimentations. https://twitter.com/oasaliving
- DisCO: II — CC Infrastructures / CC Empowerers
DisCOs (Distributed Cooperative Organizations) bring the P2P, commons, cooperativism, and feminist economics together, as an alternative to DAOs. https://twitter.com/discocoop
- E2C Exit to Community: II — CC Empowerers
Exit to Community is a community and framework for startups and companies that want to reward all their stakeholders and communities fairly. https://twitter.com/exittocommunity
- dyne.org: I — CC Curators / CC Empowerers
dyne.org is an international network of open source software producers, that facilitate artists, creatives and engaged citizens in the digital age, sharing tools, practices and narratives for community empowerment. https://twitter.com/DyneOrg
- Althea: I — CC Infrastructures
Althea’s cooperative vision for the internet brings peering from the data center to the field. https://twitter.com/AltheaNetwork
- Radicle: I — CC Infrastructures
Radicle is a peer-to-peer stack for building software together, the decentralised alternative to GitHub. https://twitter.com/radicle
- World Mobile: I — CC Infrastructures
World Mobile is a decentralized network owned by his users and built on the blockchain, providing internet access to the unconnected. https://twitter.com/WorldMobileTeam
We are looking forward to your feedback! Also glad to evaluate any kind of collaboration, proposal and idea. We have a curated global community you are welcomed to join in our telegram group, a physical Hub in the Austrian alps where you can stay as a digital nomad, enjoy a work retreat with your team and also organise your own events. Our main social media is twitter.
Wanna participate to the next events, CCG22 (27/08–02/09) and Solar Punk WOW at the beginning of October? You can already book your ticket by contacting us at cryptocommonshub@protonmail.com . We are still looking for sponsors too!
Thanks for your attention and long life to the Commons!
