Included with a FIO Crypto Handle
Welcome to the knowledge base for FIO and the FIO Protocol. This is a frequently-edited repository of information on the implementation and mechanics of the FIO Protocol, and the governance structure of the Foundation itself (which operates as a Decentralized Autonomous Consortia).
FIO - the Foundation for Interwallet Operability, is a decentralized consortium of blockchain organizations and community members supporting the ongoing development, integration, and promotion of the FIO Protocol.
If you are a developer of a blockchain application which stores, retrieves or transacts blockchain tokens or coins, further implementation details, API Specs, and SDKs are available at our Developer Hub
Navigating the Knowledge Base
For common terms used throughout FIO and FIO Protocol-related content (including this knowledge base), start with the Terms and Glossary:
The FIO Protocol is a decentralized service layer that bridges the gap between crypto endpoints such as wallets, exchanges, crypto payment processors, and any other application in which crypto assets are held and/or transferred.
The FIO Protocol is
not a wallet. Rather, it
integrates into existing products as a usability layer that creates an improved, homogeneous user experience for all blockchain tokens and coins by providing a layer of data and confirmations about transactions on other blockchains. The FIO Protocol does not compete with, integrate with nor interfere with any other blockchain. And it does not send transactions to or from other blockchains. Technically speaking, other blockchains are not aware of the FIO Protocol's existence.
What are main goals of the FIO Protocol?
The FIO Protocol reimagines and enables a better way of sending and receiving blockchain-based value, regardless of the wallet, exchange, token or coin used. This is achieved in a manner which is:
-
Human-meaningful: allows users to initiate transactions using human-readable and memorable identifiers like "john@edgewallet" or "jane@gold"
-
Decentralized: powered by a public blockchain that does not require a centralized solution of a trusted third party
-
Secure: enables transactions to be exchanged between parties in a secure way. All FIO Protocol transactions require a FIO private key, which is stored in the user’s wallet
-
Private: sensitive counter-party information, including public addresses and metadata, can be encrypted on the blockchain
-
Interoperable: once integrated into a wallet, the FIO Protocol works with any blockchain and cryptocurrency without any integration to those chains
-
eCommerce ready: enables request for payment functionality (i.e. for wallet-to-wallet order cart presentation) along with robust, immutable and private metadata for every transaction and simple refund processes
What are the Primary Features of the FIO Protocol?
The FIO Protocol currently provides several features, with a robust roadmap of future items that may be added. Currently, the FIO Protocol enables the following:
-
FIO Crypto Handle (aka FIO Address) - a human-readable wallet identifier (such as john@edge or alice@gold) which eliminates the need to see, or even know of, blockchain public addresses. FIO Crypto Handles automatically support any token in a wallet/exchange, and requires no manual mapping.
-
FIO Requests - the ability to request funds from any other wallet, utilizing in-wallet/app notifications and simple approvals. FIO Requests are fully encrypted between counter-parties, and do not interfere with the actual underlying blockchain transactions.
-
FIO Data - encrypted metadata that can be attached to any transaction, such as a simple memo, structured data (like an order cart) or hashes and references to off-chain data. FIO Data can accompany a send of funds directly to a wallet, or be attached to a FIO Request.
All features are now available on the FIO Chain Mainnet for developers to integrate into their respective products, though not all features must be included at the same time depending on the product's needs and/or resources available.
There is a growing list of future potential capabilities including potential functionality like secure decentralized mutli-signature request routing, recurring payment capability, fee splitting and more.
