FiatRails Foundation Ltd

Protocol governance and stewardship

A non-commercial Cayman Islands Foundation Company established to preserve the integrity of the FiatRails protocol while enabling progressive decentralisation.

Jurisdiction Cayman Islands Entity Exempted Foundation Company Nature Non-commercial

What the Foundation does

The Foundation exists to steward the FiatRails protocol. It does not operate commercially, hold user funds, or generate revenue.

Protocol Governance

Governance and oversight of the FiatRails protocol and associated smart contracts. Establishment and maintenance of protocol rules, parameters, and incentives.

Token Management

Issuance, allocation, and management of protocol-level tokens including FR Tokens (governance and utility) and FSC Tokens (Layer 1 native gas).

Treasury Stewardship

Stewardship of protocol treasury assets including the Foundation Treasury, Insurance Fund, Staking Rewards Pool, and Ecosystem Development Fund.

Settlement Corridors

Establishment and oversight of cross-border settlement corridors and related operational parameters across emerging markets.

Protocol Upgrades

Management of protocol upgrade and smart contract deployment authority. Coordination with regulated operating entities in relevant jurisdictions.

Decentralisation

Facilitation of decentralised governance mechanisms over time. Protection of the long-term integrity, neutrality, and sustainability of the protocol.

No dividends. No revenue. No profit.

The Foundation shall not enter into enterprise, customer, or revenue-generating contracts; employ operational staff for commercial activities; provide paid services to end users; or act as an operating company. This prohibition is enshrined in the Foundation's Memorandum of Association and cannot be amended.

Commercial activities relating to FiatRails are conducted by separate operating entities. The Foundation may receive protocol fee allocations as designated in smart contract parameters, treated as protocol-level resources and not as consideration for services.

Protocol integrity

The Foundation is bound by 13 immutable protocol invariants that govern all FiatRails deployments. These rules are non-negotiable and cannot be overridden by governance — including the requirement that FiatRails never holds fiat or user funds, that all claim tokens are 100% backed, and that reserves are never rehypothecated.

The complete list of protocol invariants is published in the FiatRails Whitepaper.

Foundation governance structure

The Foundation is governed by a Council, a Protector, and a Supervisor, as defined in the Articles of Association.

Council (Board of Directors)

The Council is responsible for day-to-day administration of the Foundation, subject to the powers of the Protector.

  • 1 to 7 Council members (Directors)
  • Execute documents and resolutions
  • Manage filings and compliance
  • Administer treasury operations within approved limits
  • Implement governance decisions
  • Meets quarterly at minimum

Protector

The Foundation shall at all times have a Protector with authority over material decisions including token issuance, treasury, amendments, and dissolution.

  • Approve or veto token issuance and allocation
  • Approve or veto treasury expenditures above threshold
  • Appoint or remove Council members
  • Approve amendments to Charter and Articles
  • Approve implementation of decentralised governance
  • Any action without Protector approval is void

Supervisor

As the Foundation has no members, the Protector also serves as Supervisor with rights to attend and vote at general meetings and access Foundation information.

  • Attend all general meetings
  • Vote at general meetings
  • Access information as "interested person"
  • Role held concurrently with Protector

Safeguards

The Foundation maintains strong controls to ensure protocol integrity and responsible stewardship.

  • Multi-signature treasury wallets (minimum 2-of-N)
  • Council spending limited to $25K per transaction without Protector approval
  • Service agreements capped at $50K/12 months without Protector approval
  • Related party transactions require disclosure and arm's-length terms
  • Directors indemnified to fullest extent permitted by law

Progressive decentralisation

The Foundation acknowledges the protocol's long-term objective of progressive decentralisation while maintaining regulatory compliance and operational stability.

1
Foundation-Led

Protector-controlled governance. Council manages day-to-day operations. Protocol parameters set centrally.

2
Advisory Governance

Non-binding governance mechanisms introduced. Token-based signalling for parameter changes. Community advisory input.

3
Delegated Powers

Limited powers delegated to token-based voting. On-chain governance for specific protocol parameters. Council expanded.

4
Decentralised Governance

Selected governance functions transitioned to decentralised structures. Emergency intervention retained. Fully reversible.

Dual token model

The protocol uses two tokens with distinct roles: FSC for gas and FR for coordination and governance.

FSC Token

Native gas token of the FiatRails Settlement Chain. Designed for anti-spam only with zero economic value. Not traded, not listed. Partners experience effectively zero gas costs through Foundation subsidies.

FR Token

Economic and governance coordination token with market-determined value. Used for staking, bonding, settlement incentives, and hub-and-spoke liquidity routing across all corridors.

Total Supply
1,000,000,000
Supply Model
Fixed
Initial Circulation
~8-10%
Standard
ERC-20

FR Token utility

Partner Eligibility

Banks and PSPs may optionally stake FR to join the network. Staking is not required — partners can pay standard fees in USDU or fiat instead.

Fee Discounts

Staked FR reduces protocol fees with tiered discounts from 5% to 20% based on stake amount. Four partner tiers from Bronze to Platinum.

Governance Signalling

FR holders above 10,000 FR may propose protocol parameter changes. Advisory only — not binding on the Foundation.

Settlement Agent Bonus

Settlement agents may optionally stake 1,000,000 FR for additional rewards on settlement operations processed through the network.

Hub-and-Spoke Liquidity

FR serves as the central hub asset. All claim tokens (cKES, cGHS, cAED, etc.) pair against FR, reducing required trading pairs from N² to N.

Corridor Priority

Stake-weighted priority in new corridor launches. Optional mechanism for partners who want early access to emerging corridors.

FR Token boundaries

FR never backs user assets — not a reserve asset
FR never required for mint/redeem — not a payment token
FR does not represent equity — not a security
FR does not convey custodial rights — not ownership
FR does not intermediate flows — not a payment rail
FSC (gas) has zero economic value — anti-spam only

Treasury and ecosystem funding

The Foundation stewards four treasury pools, each with defined purposes and governance-controlled disbursement.

Foundation Treasury

Operational funding for protocol development, compliance, and administration

Insurance Fund

User and merchant protection against operational failures and edge cases

Staking Rewards Pool

Token holder incentives for network security and partner alignment

Ecosystem Fund

Grants, partnerships, corridor bootstrap, and developer incentives