Cyclos (STRO)
Payment software by the Dutch nonprofit STRO (Social TRade Organisation) powering 1,500+ payment systems with 4.5M+ account holders — banks and MFIs in the Global South alongside hundreds of community currencies, LETS and time banks via the free 'Cyclos 4 communities' service. One of the longest-running pieces of monetary-innovation infrastructure (since 2004; v4.16.15 released May 2025, mobile app updated February 2026).
The workhorse infrastructure of the community-currency world: 20+ years old, 1,500+ systems, free for grassroots initiatives — but closed-source and single-org controlled, with no monetary design of its own beyond what operators configure.
M69 Score
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Issuance Model3x3.0
Supports many issuance models — mutual credit, backed vouchers, time banks — so debt-free elastic issuance is achievable, but rules are operator-configured per deployment rather than enforced by the platform; issuance is whatever the installing organization decides.
Spending Power Stability2x2.0
No stability mechanism of its own; deployed currencies overwhelmingly peg 1:1 to a national fiat unit, so spending power simply inherits the reference fiat's inflation (SPS-01 low, SPS-02 band 2).
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x3.0
Deployed units are typically fiat-denominated (FI-01 low), but mutual-credit and voucher deployments hold no fiat reserves and the software runs without banking rails; purpose-built support for local currencies scores FI-07 high.
Traction2x4.0
1,500+ payment systems, 4.5M+ account holders, hundreds of social currencies on the free communities service, 20+ years of operation, and current signs of life (v4.16.15 May 2025, Play Store update February 2026). Held below 5 because much of the account-holder volume is conventional MFI banking rather than complementary currency, and growth appears flat.
Sovereignty2.0
Cyclos 4 is closed-source under STRO's license (v3 was GPL); STRO is a single controlling organization and the hosted communities service is custodial — a clear single-entity shutdown and revocation vector.
Governance2.0
NGO-run with no user or community governance over the software or its terms; long-standing but informal and centralized decision-making.
Resilience3.0
20+ years of survival across many crises, sustained by license revenue plus NGO funding — but closed source means the ecosystem cannot recover the platform if STRO disappears, and hundreds of currencies share that single dependency.
Inclusivity4.0
Mission-driven financial inclusion — built for banks/MFIs serving the underbanked in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with a free tier for community initiatives and low participation cost; identity requirements depend on the deploying operator.