Atlas FairShares

FairShares (FAIRS) is the economic layer of the Atlas network. Every participant receives equal weekly income. Balances burn over time, converging to a fixed equilibrium — hoarding is unprofitable, and active participants naturally maintain access.

No ads, no rent-seeking middlemen. FairShares pay for storage, queries, and shelter leases. They can only be transferred between peers — never minted or bought from a central authority.

Weekly Rollover

Every Monday at 00:00 UTC, each registry runs a balance rollover. The formula applies a small burn rate then adds the weekly income grant. Balances naturally converge toward an equilibrium point.

// Runs every Monday at 00:00 UTC
// weeklyBurnRate = weeklyIncome / (equilibriumWeeks * weeklyIncome)
//                = 100 / (100 * 100) = 0.01  (1 %)

newBalance = floor(balance * (1 - weeklyBurnRate)) + weeklyIncome

// Examples:
//   balance = 0      → floor(0     * 0.99) + 100 = 100
//   balance = 5000   → floor(5000  * 0.99) + 100 = 5050
//   balance = 10000  → floor(10000 * 0.99) + 100 = 10000  (equilibrium)
//   balance = 15000  → floor(15000 * 0.99) + 100 = 14950  (decays back)

At equilibrium, the burn exactly equals the weekly income — the balance stays constant. Above equilibrium, balances decay back down. Below, they grow. This prevents hoarding and keeps the economy active.

Setup Envelope

Each registry publishes its FairShares configuration as a DigitalDocument envelope with additionalType: "atlas:fairSharesSetup". This defines the economic parameters for that registry.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DigitalDocument",
  "additionalType": "atlas:fairSharesSetup",
  "description": "FairShares economic setup for this registry",
  "text": {
    "equilibriumWeeks": 100,
    "weeklyIncome": 100,
    "initialGrant": 100
  },
  "datePublished": "2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Balance Sheet

After each weekly rollover, the registry publishes an updated balance sheet as a DigitalDocument with additionalType: "atlas:fairShares". This is an auditable, signed record of every participant's current balance.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DigitalDocument",
  "additionalType": "atlas:fairShares",
  "description": "Current FairShares balance sheet for this registry",
  "text": {
    "b3a1f8...": 4200,
    "e4c9d2...": 870,
    "a7f3b1...": 10000
  },
  "datePublished": "2026-03-31T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Spending

FairShares are spent in three ways across the network:

Buying Query Units

When a user's free query units run out (HTTP 402), they submit a BuyAction envelope to purchase more. The registry credits floor(price × queryUnitsPerFairShare) units to the identity.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BuyAction",
  "additionalType": "atlas:queryUnits",
  "seller": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "identifier": "<registry-identity-hash>"
  },
  "object": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "additionalType": "atlas:queryUnits"
  },
  "price": 10,
  "priceCurrency": "FAIRS"
}

Peer Transfers

MoneyTransfer envelopes move FAIRS between identities. Transfers are applied during the next weekly rollover. The sender must have sufficient balance.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "MoneyTransfer",
  "sender": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "identifier": {
      "@type": "PropertyValue",
      "propertyID": "atlas:hash",
      "value": "<sender-identity-hash>"
    }
  },
  "recipient": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "identifier": {
      "@type": "PropertyValue",
      "propertyID": "atlas:hash",
      "value": "<recipient-identity-hash>"
    }
  },
  "amount": {
    "@type": "MonetaryAmount",
    "currency": "FAIRS",
    "value": 50
  }
}

Data Fidelity

Registries track how many FairShares have been burned on content across seven freshness windows: 1 day, 7 days, 30 days, 180 days, 1 year, 5 years, and all time. These burn signals let Guide registries rank content by real usage rather than arbitrary metrics.

{
  "type": "SocialMediaPosting",
  "additionalType": null,
  "window": "DAYS_7",
  "totalBurn": 3200,
  "identityHash": "b3a1f8..."
}

Proof-of-Work Tiers

Identities generate a Proof of Work on registration. The difficulty tier determines priority access when a registry is under load. Higher tiers get priority query lanes and reduced rate limiting.

Registry Query Policy

Each registry configures how FairShares translate into query access. These settings are part of the registry's configuration.