🚨 WARNING: UNRELEASED SOFTWARE

This governance system is currently UNRELEASED and UNTESTED in production.

• ⚠️ Not Yet Activated: Governance rules are not enforced
• 🔧 Test Keys Only: No real cryptographic enforcement
• 📋 Development Phase: System is in rapid AI-assisted development
• ⚡ Use at Your Own Risk: This is experimental software

Do not deploy in production until Phase 2 activation. See System Status for details.

Coordination Without Authority: An Architectural Solution

Bitcoin Commons applies intended cryptographic enforcement to Bitcoin development governance. Built on the BLVM stack (specs, consensus, protocol, node) with BLVM Specification Lock, tests, and related tooling—verify scope in System Status and per-repo READMEs.

🌐 thebitcoincommons.org | 📚 Documentation | 📜 Compact | 📊 System Status

BLVM - Specifications and implementations for alternative Bitcoin-compatible nodes: Orange Paper, blvm-consensus, blvm-spec-lock, and the rest of the tiered stack (see Architecture below).

Bitcoin Commons - Forkable governance framework applying Elinor Ostrom's commons management principles. Normative principles: Bitcoin Commons Compact (technical rules live in the governance repo).

Together, they target Bitcoin’s governance asymmetry through transparent rules, forkable process, and cryptographic checks where implemented—see the Compact and System Status for what is verified and active today.

6-Tier Architecture:

1. Orange Paper (blvm-spec) - Mathematical foundation
2. Consensus (blvm-consensus) - Consensus implementation (BLVM Specification Lock, tests, and related assurance—see repo and System Status)
3. Protocol (blvm-protocol) - Core protocol abstraction
4. Node (blvm-node) - Full Bitcoin node
5. SDK (blvm-sdk) - Tools and primitives
6. Governance (governance) - Forkable governance framework

Phase 1: Infrastructure Complete ✅

All core components implemented. Governance not yet activated. Production deployment pending Phase 2 activation.

• blvm-spec - Orange Paper (mathematical foundation)
• blvm-spec-lock - Formal verification tooling
• blvm-consensus - Consensus layer (blvm-spec-lock, tests, and related assurance—scope per repo and System Status)
• blvm-protocol - Protocol abstraction layer
• blvm-node - Full Bitcoin node implementation
• blvm-sdk - Developer toolkit
• blvm-commons - Cryptographic governance enforcement
• governance - Governance configuration and fork registry
• blvm - Binary wrapper

• blvm-governance - Governance module (docs)
• blvm-lightning - Lightning Network integration (docs)
• blvm-mesh - Mesh networking module (docs)
• blvm-stratum-v2 - Stratum V2 mining protocol (docs)

1. Learn: Visit thebitcoincommons.org to understand the governance model and principles
2. Read: Documentation for technical details
3. Install: Pre-built blvm binaries and packages — GitHub Releases (blvm); install walkthrough: btcdecoded.org/install
4. Explore: Browse repository READMEs for component-specific information
5. Status: Check SYSTEM_STATUS.md for verified implementation status

• Issues: GitHub issues for bugs and feature requests
• Discussions: GitHub discussions for questions
• Security: Report security issues privately to maintainers

MIT License - see individual repository LICENSE files for details.