Mechanisms
Coordination infrastructure requires coordination finance.
Commons Lab designs financial instruments for a class of ventures that existing instruments don’t serve well: open-source protocols, digital public infrastructure, and coordination systems that generate value but don’t fit the equity-exit model. Each mechanism below is in design or active development.
Commons Pool
Cross-Portfolio Alignment for Builder Networks
A shared equity portfolio where incubation cohort founders exchange concentrated risk for diversified exposure to their peers. Mentors, venues, and infrastructure providers earn alignment asset units tied to the portfolio.
HyperClaim
Revenue Participation for Digital Public Infrastructure
A two-tranche revenue participation instrument encoded as a Hypercert. A capped recovery tranche, plus a long-duration residual tranche that provides portfolio cash flow from protocol fee revenue.
Outcome Bonds
Results-Based Financing for Digital Public Infrastructure
Hypercert-encoded outcome bonds that bring development impact bond mechanics to digital public infrastructure at a fraction of the transaction cost of traditional DIBs.