Blockchain Commons Publishes 2026 Technology Overview

Over the last several years, Blockchain Commons has developed numerous technologies meant to improve the independence, privacy, resilience, and openness of the internet, to allows users true self-sovereignty. The earliest technologies have been adopted by many third-parties, while many newer technologies are available for deployment now.

The brand-new 2026 Technology Overview from Blockchain Commons describes each of 24 different technologies, applications, and references in about a minute each, offering the most comprehensive and accessible look at Blockchain Commons technology to date.

Here’s a quick look at the topics covered in the Overview:

Data Encoding

Our foundational methods for storing data in an interoperable format.

• dCBOR. An update to the CBOR data format that ensures that data is always encoded in the same way.
• Known Values. Integers assigned to common concepts and recorded in a common registry.
• Uniform Resources (URs). An encoding method for structuring binary data as plain text strings.
• Multipart URs (MURs). URs with large payloads split into fragments seen as Animated QR codes.

Cryptographic Protections

Technologies that protect, authenticate, and verify your data.

• FROST. A Schnorr-based threshold signing system.
• Provenance Marks. A forward commitment hash chain that is public verifiable, used to assess content authenticity.
• Sharded Secret Key Reconstruction (SSKR). A Shamir’s Secret Sharing variant that includes two-level thresholds.

Data Identification

Aids that help humans to recognize complex binary and hex data.

• Bytewords. An encoding method that makes data human readable, also used by URs.
• LifeHash. A visual recognition system that creates a unique visual icon for any data.
• Object Identity Blocks. An ID card for digital objects that improves recognition and reduces confusion.

Gordian Envelope

The core of our higher-level stack, used for safely storing and sharing data.

• Gordian Envelope. A deterministic smart document system that supports elision, encryption, and permits.
• Gordian Sealed Transaction Protocol (GSTP). A transportation method for moving envelopes securely between parties.
• Encrypted State Continuations (ESC). A method for storing client data as a black box in GSTP communications.

Self Sovereign Identity

Methods to control your own identity, built on Gordian Envelope.

• Extensible Identifier (XID). A secure self-sovereign and self-certifying identifier.
• Gordian Clubs. A self-contained cryptographic publication that you can distribute without infrastructure.

Secure Data Transport

Self-sovereignty can often be censored by the transport layer. These apps demo ways to avoid that.

• Garner. A Tor onion service that privately serves files using TorGaps.
• Hubert. An automotable dead drop protocol that uses distributed storage networks for communication.

Reference Apps

All of our technologies are references. These apps show how many of them work.

• dCBOR-CLI. An app for investigating dCBOR, including powerful dCBOR pattern expressions.
• envelope-CLI. An app demonstrating extensive envelope and XID functionality.
• Seedtool-CLI. A command-line app that demonstrates data encoding and other low-level protocols.
• Gordian Seedtool. An iOS seed vault that mirrors seedtool-CLI in a graphical environment.

Information Repositories

We want to help you learn about our technologies! Besides our developer pages, the following resources also contain information.

• Gordian Dev Meetings. Monthly or bimonthly meetings that discuss and demo technologies.
• Research Repo. The precise technical specifications for many of our technologies.
• YouTube. Videos of our meetings as well as other overviews and demos.

Besides our new 2026 Technology Overview, you may also wish to watch our 2021 Technology Overview, which contains more extensive discussions of our older (more widely adopted) technologies and also our two-part overview of Gordian Envelope.

2021 Overview:

Envelope Overview:

Envelope Extensions: