The Trustline Ledger

How the Trustline Ledger Works

• Every member starts at zero. There is no starting balance. There is no interest. There is no fee.
• A trade proposes a value. If Amelia repairs Ben's plumbing and they agree the work was worth 30 credits, Amelia proposes: "I did work for Ben — 30 credits."
• Both parties must approve. The trade goes to Ben. When Ben approves, the ledger updates: Amelia +30, Ben -30. Amelia has a credit; Ben has a debit. Both are now visible on the public ledger.
• Ben settles his debit by helping someone else. He teaches a neighbor Spanish, they agree on 30 credits, the neighbor approves, and Ben is back to zero. Nobody printed anything. Nobody borrowed anything. Value was moved.
• The ledger always sums to zero. That is not a rule imposed on the ledger. That is what the ledger is. Every credit somewhere is a debit somewhere else. This is the whole innovation of mutual credit, and it has been in use for over 90 years, most famously by Switzerland's WIR Bank (since 1934) and Italy's Sardex network (since 2010).
• Reputation is public. The number of trades you have completed and the endorsements you have received are visible to everyone. This replaces credit scores. It also replaces the fiat money's promise that a stranger is trustworthy because they have paper. Here, a stranger is trustworthy because a neighbor said so.
• The Foundation is not a party to any trade. The Ledger is a coordination tool. If a dispute arises, the members involved handle it. The Foundation offers mediation as a service, but does not enforce.

What You Should Know Before Using

The Trustline Ledger is a technology for community coordination. It is not a bank. It does not process fiat currency. It does not extend credit in the legal sense of a loan. The "credits" recorded here are not money. They are memory of favors owed and favors given.

Under U.S. tax law (IRS Publication 525), barter and mutual-credit exchanges of goods or services may be reportable as taxable income at fair market value. You are responsible for your own tax obligations. The Foundation does not issue 1099-B forms and does not track member trades for tax purposes.

Do not conduct trades on the Ledger for anything illegal. Do not use the Ledger to circumvent professional licensing (e.g., medical or legal advice from unlicensed providers). Use good judgment and treat every trade as if the whole town were watching, because on this ledger, they can.