Ecosystem working groups

The Algorand Technical Council (ATC) is a group within the Algorand ecosystem that reviews technical proposals and focuses on the advancement of the ecosystem. It works in conjunction with the Algorand Wallet Council, ​​a forum that discusses wallet standards, proposes changes, and promotes their adoption.

ATC convenes on a monthly basis to vote on technical proposals for wallets, applications, libraries, and open-source projects that can help grow and advance the ecosystem.

By agreeing on technical standards, the committee expects that members will lead by example in adopting and implementing the standards within their own products and services.

It is the responsibility of ATC to record all decisions that are made and communicate them to the wider Algorand community.

Issues that ATC votes on include:

• • The creation and adoption of standards
  • Open-source projects to collectively use and maintain
  • Changes to the rules and structure of the group
  • Acceptance or removal of members

Responsibilities of ATC members

Terms of participation:

• • Flag proposals within the Wallet Council as “ready” (or not) to be voted by ATC.
  • Create a voting record on the agreed best practices, standards, features for Algorand applications and wallets, with decisions recorded on GitHub and the Algorand Wallet Compatibility Matrix.
  • Publicly share opinions on standards and projects through the Tech Radar tool.
  • Clearly state intent to implement standards or use “accepted” open-source projects, tools and libraries within their own products and services.

Expected commitments:

• • Review proposals from the Wallet Council and submit feedback within a reasonable time frame.
  • Cast votes within the specified voting window, whether during the meeting or offline (e.g. via email).
  • Propose agenda items.
  • Attend ATC and Wallet Council meetings. If you cannot attend, you should elect a representative to participate and handle communications. Attendance is flexible, however fellow ATC members may vote to remove you for consistent absence.

How proposals work:

Before a proposal reaches the ATC, it must have been presented to and discussed among the Wallet Council. The Wallet Council will then come to a consensus vote on whether the proposal should be moved to the ATC. To be ready for review by ATC, a proposal must meet the following criteria: Be a new or existing project with at least a single reference implementation. Be open-source for members to review and vote on it. Be accompanied by sufficient documentation. Both ARCs and non-ARCs must include: An abstract An explanation of motivation Specifications Limitations Security implications

How ATC voting works

Rules:

Proposals require 66% of votes to change the state of the proposal. Members can vote: Hold, Assess, Trial, Adopt, or No Opinion. Proposals that don't pass can be re-submitted later for re-vote.

Process:

• • Each member receives one vote.
  • The voting window is one week.
  • Failure to vote is considered a "No Opinion" vote, when the voting window closes.
  • Votes are to be cast during meetings but can also be submitted offline, such as via email, for those who were not able to attend.
  • All ATC votes are public.

Definitions of voting options:

• • Hold - Committee is aware of proposal. Nothing is suggested to be done at present.
  • Assess - Some or all of the ATC members will give the proposal serious assessment.
  • Trial - Proposal is ready for trial and already has reference implementations.
  • Adopt - Proposal is ready for adoption and propagation across the ecosystem.
  • No Opinion - Proposal is neither endorsed nor opposed. 

Voting results

For transparency purposes, ATC voting outcomes will be shared with the wider community through the Tech Radar, a generated diagram demonstrating how the committee voted, whether Hold, Assess, Trial or Adopt. The Tech Radar diagrams are generated by ATC via this Algorand Foundation GitHub repository, where they will also be made publicly available.

Join ATC

ATC applications are on hold while the application process is improved. This page will be updated when applications resume.

The Algorand Wallet Council plays a pivotal role in the Algorand ecosystem by promoting the adoption of wallet standards and facilitating cross-ecosystem engagement to identify gaps in open-source tools and infrastructure. The Council works in conjunction with the Algorand Technical Council (ATC), which focuses on advancement of the ecosystem and convenes to review and vote on technical proposals.

The Wallet Council is a collective of experts who either manage or frequently interact with Algorand wallets. They convene to deliberate on potential improvements or modifications to wallet standards and infrastructure to foster a stronger and more resilient ecosystem.

Meetings of the Wallet Council are held bi-monthly and are inclusive, welcoming all members of the Algorand ecosystem. This approach ensures a broad and diverse range of insights and contributions towards advancing the ecosystem's development and robustness.

How does the Algorand Wallet Council work?

Acting as a forum, the council initiates proposals for wallet standards. Members of the council are empowered to either draft new wallet and app standards or engage in discussions about existing ones. Once agreement is reached, specialized working groups are formed to refine these standards further. Each proposal then undergoes a thorough review and discussion within the Wallet Council.

When a new wallet standard is nearing its final form, it is added to the agenda of ATC. This step is crucial for soliciting implementation of the standard across all significant apps within the ecosystem, ensuring a unified approach to adoption.

Responsibilities of Wallet Council participants

Terms of participation:

• • Hold technical discussions relevant to wallets and applications.
  • Discuss adoption standards (ARCs, BIPs, W3C, OWF, etc.) Point out Algorand ecosystem gaps in the open-source tools and infrastructure.
  • Identify open-source projects to use, support, maintain or create when gaps are identified.
  • Identify opportunities for collaboration with other ecosystems on open-source projects, where appropriate. 

Expected commitments:

• • Meet bi-monthly with the Wallet Council. (Note: This may increase to weekly in the future.)
  • Participate in breakout groups as needed for research, small proofs of concept, presentations, and proposals on specific topics.
  • Review proposals, vote on whether they move to the ATC, and if yes, submit them. 

Topics previously discussed:

• • Authentication
  • Identity
  • Wallet APIs App <> wallet communication protocols
  • Payment standards
  • Cryptographic capabilities
  • Interoperability
  • Infrastructure components
  • ARCs
  • BIPs
  • SLIPs
  • W3C / OWF standards
  • Privacy-enabling techniques
    
    

Join the Algorand Wallet Council

The Algorand Wallet Council is open to all and requires no membership. To participate, all you need to do is attend a Wallet Council meeting.

Contact the Wallet Council via email to be invited to the next meeting.