How Bruck’lyn Works
Starting a Node
Any Member can start a Bruck’lyn node in their neighborhood. The steps:
- Register the node — provide a neighborhood name and a geographic anchor (zip code, borough, township)
- Recruit the founding circle — minimum 5 Members to activate a node
- Choose your stack — select which cooperative programs your node will run (you don’t have to run all of them at launch)
- Hold your first Pnyx — local governance begins immediately
The Node Structure
A Bruck’lyn node has three functional layers:
Layer 1: Commerce
Local coordination of purchasing, services, and trade using the cooperative platform. Every transaction stays on the cooperative stack — no extraction to outside platforms.
Layer 2: Mutual Aid
A local VSL (Very Short Loan) pool and a neighborhood Marks exchange. Members help members. The platform tracks it. The cooperative honors it.
Layer 3: Governance
A local Pnyx thread for neighborhood decisions. Local Pnyx decisions feed up to the platform-level Pnyx for canonical logging.
Growth Mechanics
Nodes grow through:
- Referral credits — Members who bring neighbors into the cooperative earn Marks
- Volume bonuses — nodes that hit purchasing volume thresholds earn cooperative dividends
- Pattern sharing — nodes that document innovations earn CANON credits (logged to substrate)
Metrics
A healthy Bruck’lyn node tracks:
- Active Members
- Monthly transaction volume
- Mutual aid events (informal support logged to substrate)
- Local Pnyx decisions
- Marks in circulation
The neighborhood is the node. The node is the economy.