An open protocol standard for decentralized trade and cooperation via Bitcoin Lightning.
Status: v0.1.0-draft — Active development. Community input welcome. Not yet a finalized standard.
Colabonate Protocol is a Bitcoin-native open protocol that enables decentralized peer-to-peer trade and cooperation — without central platforms, without registration, and without bank accounts.
Anyone with a Lightning wallet can:
- Publish offers and discover services in a decentralized marketplace
- Create trustless trade agreements enforced by Lightning Escrow
- Collaborate on multi-party projects with milestone-based payments
- Build reputation through verifiable, non-transferable credentials
- Participate in community governance via Nostr-based voting
This repository contains the protocol specification and supporting documentation. It is maintained by the Colabonate Foundation and licensed under CC BY 4.0.
The goal of this repository: Through open development and community review, reach v1.0.0 — a stable, implementer-ready protocol standard.
| Layer | Technology | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | LNURL-Auth (LUD-04) + Nostr | identity-protocol.md |
| Identity Verification | Humanode Biomapper (ZK biometric) | identity-protocol.md |
| Transport | Nostr Protocol (NIP-01, NIP-57) | nostr-events.md |
| Marketplace | Nostr Kind 30017 Offers | sell-protocol.md |
| Payments | Bitcoin L1 / Lightspark Grid / RSK | payment-architecture.md |
| Escrow | LNBits Hold Invoices / RSK | escrow-protocol.md |
| Reputation | COL-Points + Nostr Reviews | reputation-protocol.md |
| Governance | Nostr Votes + DAO Codex | dao-codex.md |
Bitcoin-only: No EVM, no Ethereum, no altcoins. See ADR 007.
spec/ ← Ratified protocol specifications (milestone-gated)
docs/
├── protocols/ ← Working drafts and conceptual foundation
│ ├── core/ ← Core specs: events, escrow, reputation, identity
│ ├── identity/ ← Identity and verification protocols
│ ├── workflows/ ← Buyer, seller, cooperation, dispute flows
│ └── governance/ ← DAO Codex, economics, roadmap
└── decisions/ ← Architecture Decision Records (ADRs 007–012)
spec/ contains specifications that have passed a milestone review and are considered stable enough for implementers to build against. docs/protocols/ is the active working area — proposals, drafts, and concepts that feed into spec/.
See SPECIFICATION_STATUS.md for the current status of every document.
To build a Colabonate-compatible client, read in this order:
- Vision — Why this protocol exists and what it is not
- Protocol Spec v1 — Technical overview
- Roles — Initiator, Partner, Mediator, Arbitrator, Observer
- Nostr Events — All event kinds (30017–30026 + NIP-57) with full schemas
- Ticket System — The central interaction object
- Escrow Protocol — Lightning trustless payment mechanics
- Glossary — Canonical term definitions
Full status table: SPECIFICATION_STATUS.md
| Area | Documents | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Core | vision, roles, ticket-system, nostr-events, escrow | Draft |
| Identity | identity-protocol | Draft |
| Payments | payment-architecture | Draft |
| Workflows | buy-protocol, sell-protocol | Draft (Phase 1 implemented) |
| Governance | dao-codex, economic-protocol, dao-creation-protocol | Draft |
No document has yet passed a milestone review into spec/. This is the work of v0.1.0 → v1.0.0.
This protocol is developed in the open. You can follow and participate via:
- GitHub Issues — Open questions, spec proposals, bug reports
- GitHub Projects — Milestone-based roadmap (v0.1 → v0.2 → v1.0)
- Discussions — Design conversations and implementation feedback
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
spec-proposal |
Proposed addition or change to a specification |
open-question |
Unresolved design decision blocking progress |
needs-research |
Requires external research or expert input |
editorial |
Typo, clarity, or formatting fix |
adr-needed |
Decision large enough to warrant an ADR |
good-first-issue |
Well-defined, limited scope — good entry point |
The following design questions are unresolved and block v1.0.0. Contributions welcome:
| # | Question | Relevant Spec |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark Stablecoins denomination in escrow — exchange rate risk handling | payment-architecture.md |
| 2 | Codex Fork RSK contract standard — interface definition | payment-architecture.md |
| 3 | HID Linkage enforcement threshold — governance decision needed | payment-architecture.md |
| Milestone | Goal | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| v0.1.0-draft | Public draft — community can read and comment | All core specs exist as drafts ✅ |
| v0.2.0 | Stable schemas — implementers can build Phase 1 clients | Nostr event schemas frozen, escrow state machine finalized |
| v0.3.0 | Identity + Reputation complete | Levels 0–3 fully specified, COL-Points formula finalized |
| v0.4.0 | Governance layer complete | DAO Codex ratified, economic-protocol finalized |
| v1.0.0 | Final standard | All open questions resolved, spec/ populated, community review complete |
Major protocol decisions are documented as Architecture Decision Records.
| No. | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 007 | Bitcoin-only protocol documentation | Accepted |
| 008 | Nostr event kind range 30017–30026 | Accepted |
| 009 | Identity level model (0–3) | Accepted |
| 010 | LNBits Hold Invoice as escrow | Accepted |
| 011 | COL-Points vs COLA token | Accepted |
| 012 | Payment layer architecture: L1 / Lightspark / RSK | Accepted |
Full index and template: docs/decisions/ | Next available: ADR 013
Colabonate uses a three-entity model (DFINITY-inspired):
| Entity | Role | Protocol Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Colabonate Foundation | Maintains protocol, holds IP | This repository |
| Colabonate DAO | Community governance | dao-codex.md |
| Colabonate GmbH | Commercial services | Separate repository |
This repository is maintained by the Colabonate Foundation and freely available for any implementation under CC BY 4.0.
Contributions to the protocol specification are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request.
How to contribute:
| Contribution type | Path |
|---|---|
| Fix a typo / clarification | Open a PR with label editorial |
| Propose a spec change | Open an Issue with label spec-proposal first |
| Raise an open question | Open an Issue with label open-question |
| Major architecture decision | Open an Issue with label adr-needed |
Key rules:
- Bitcoin-only terminology (no EVM terms) — see Glossary
- English only
- No implementation code in this repository
| Content | License |
|---|---|
| Protocol documentation | CC BY 4.0 |
The Colabonate Protocol specification is freely available for use, adaptation, and implementation. Attribution to the Colabonate Foundation is required.
| Link | |
|---|---|
| 🌐 Website | colabonate.com |
| 🐙 GitHub | github.com/Colabonate |
| 💬 Discussions | GitHub Discussions |
| 🤝 Open Collective | opencollective.com/colabonate |
| 🎬 YouTube | youtube.com/@colabonate |
| 🐦 X / Twitter | x.com/Colabonate |
| instagram.com/colabonate | |
| 🎁 Patreon | patreon.com/c/Colabonate |
Colabonate Protocol — Decentralized. Open. Bitcoin-only. Maintained by the Colabonate Foundation · github.com/Colabonate