FOAF
Foundation
Decentralized trust infrastructure for community-scale value exchange
What Is
FOAF?
FOAF (Friend of a Friend) is a decentralized protocol for value exchange rooted in trust. It is not a marketplace or an app—it is the infrastructure that powers them. FOAF enables people to trade goods, services, and credit through personal networks, using social trust instead of money.
Post something you offer or need
It spreads through your contact network
Credit flows across trust paths, and the app keeps track
No public listings. No wallet setup. Most users never touch tokens. FOAF works quietly in the background, making trusted trade possible.
What Is
FOAF?
FOAF (Friend of a Friend) is a decentralized protocol for value exchange rooted in trust. It is not a marketplace or an app—it is the infrastructure that powers them. FOAF enables people to trade goods, services, and credit through personal networks, using social trust instead of money.
Post something you offer or need
It spreads through your contact network
Credit flows across trust paths, and the app keeps track
No public listings. No wallet setup. Most users never touch tokens. FOAF works quietly in the background, making trusted trade possible.
Why Now?
FOAF is designed to fill the gap left by systems that no longer serve us.
Rising costs and economic instability are pushing people to find alternatives
Trust in institutions is eroding
Volunteer-run exchange networks burn out and fade
Communities need tools built for resilience and continuity
Why It Matters
Four reasons FOAF is the right foundation for community-scale exchange.
Enables peer-to-peer trade without fiat currency
Leverages social trust through friend-of-a-friend networks
Removes dependence on centralized platforms and corporate intermediaries
Starts with surplus food — expands into full community-scale economies
Our Mission
FOAF Foundation is building protocol-level infrastructure for peer-to-peer value exchange rooted in trust, privacy, and mutual credit. As a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), we ensure that decisions are made transparently and remain accountable to our communities through token-weighted governance.
FOAF is not a product or a company — it is infrastructure for cooperation.
Who It's For
Devs
Build tools and apps on the FOAF protocol
Funders
Support a resilient foundation for future economies
Leaders
Bring FOAF into your local network
FIRST USE CASE:
GrowOperative
GrowOperative is the first live app powered by FOAF. It helps gardeners share their surplus food through trusted social networks. This is just the beginning. FOAF can support any kind of trade—tools, skills, services, and more.
Explore GrowOperative
Core Principles
The values that guide everything we build — from protocol design to community governance.
Local-first:
Built for neighborhoods and bioregions
Permissioned visibility
Listings are visible only through direct or second-degree contacts
Credible neutrality:
FOAF is infrastructure, not a brand or marketplace
Forward-compatible:
Starts with food, expands to services, logistics, and credit
Core Principles
The values that guide everything we build — from protocol design to community governance.
Local-first:
Built for neighborhoods and bioregions
Permissioned visibility
Listings are visible only through direct or second-degree contacts
Credible neutrality:
FOAF is infrastructure, not a brand or marketplace
Forward-compatible:
Starts with food, expands to services, logistics, and credit