The Many protocol seeks to bridge the gap from our current technological status quo to a more decentralized one, while prioritizing the independence of individual entities and the compatibility between multiple implementations. In short, the Many protocol enables a world where multiple sovereign parties can coordinate regardless of the specific stack they've chosen.

Inspired by the role of biodiversity in creating and maintaining a healthy ecosystem, the Many protocol brings together a wide variety of technical solutions — including but not limited to decentralized solutions like blockchains — in order to create an interoperable network-of-networks built for the real world in all it's messy, beautiful glory.

As a protocol, Many defines the communications interface and several key behaviors (known as “attributes”) for any node operating within a network supporting the Many protocol.

For more on attributes, see the technical protocol specification.

The Many protocol distinguishes itself from other protocols in the decentralized space by three main features:

Anyone can run their own network with their own rules and still interact with all the other networks supporting the Many protocol. There’s no need to put private data into an oracle just to access it from within the network.

Every network will be different and the protocol allows for multiple configurations — even non-blockchain networks — to combine and form a single meta-network. This approach allows different networks to run different blockchains "under the hood" and even allows for Web 2.0 services like databases or runtime environments. Adoption of the protocol does not require migrating all existing services into a new programming paradigm like smart contracts.

Because membership in the network-of-networks doesn’t require a predefined configuration which would unavoidably limit its suitability, there's no upper bound to how many networks can be part of the Many protocol. By combining full customization while maintaining full interoperability, decentralized technology can achieve widespread adoption.

See the technical protocol specification.