my-quid-pro-quo.com · A Foundation for Global Instruction Project · The Warren, Rabbit Ten
The Trustline Ledger
A community mutual credit network. Declare what you can offer. Declare what you need. Complete a trade with a neighbor. The ledger records it, credits one of you, debits the other, and — invariably — sums to zero. No money involved. No middleman collecting a cut.
The Dignity of the Deal. Every trade posted here is between two adults who chose it. The Foundation is not a party. The ledger only records. You are responsible for your own taxes on barter income under IRS Publication 525.
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The Ledger Sum
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Every credit given to one member is debited from another. The total is always zero. This is the mathematical proof that mutual credit is not printing money — it is naming what already exists between neighbors.
Signing you in…
Anonymous by default. No email or password required.
Skills Marketplace
What community members can offer. Click a name to view their profile and propose a trade.
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Needs Board
What community members are looking for. See if you can help.
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Community Activity
Recent trades. Public by design so trust is visible.
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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.
Ask GENO About the Ledger
GENO knows how mutual credit works, how Sardex and WIR Bank operate, what taxes you need to think about, and how to get your first trade off the ground.
"You are not broke. You are un-traded. Every skill you have, every hour you own — the fiat economy walked past it without recognizing it. On the Trustline Ledger, the recognition is the whole economy."
— from The World Climb, Chapter 13 · Dr. Gene A Constant
You are proposing a completed trade with another member. Both parties must approve before the ledger updates.
One credit ≈ one U.S. dollar of fair market value. Both parties must have agreed on this number.
A trade proposal is waiting for you
If you approve, the ledger will update: proposer +credits, you −credits. If you decline, the trade will be recorded as declined and nothing will move on the ledger.