Where is the money?

What partners and investors ask first: protocol fees, where funds flow, and how we relate to x402 / on-chain stacks. This is a public note, not normative spec — see the Constitution.

Three sentences
  1. The protocol does not mint, custody network funds, or tax each exchange.
  2. VDC anchors delivery; fiat / USDC / mock are pluggable settlement legs.
  3. The operating company may charge for services (node, certification, routing, support) — not for owning the protocol.

FAQ

Does user payment flow through you?

Usually not. Trial and the zero node default to mock or sandbox. Production settlement uses licensed or declared partners; the protocol requires SETTLED to bind vdc_id + an honest settlement_receipt.

How do you make money?

RevenueIsIs not
Hosted reference nodeOps, quota, auditProtocol license fee
Compatibility certificationSteward review (may be free early)Paywall to join
Settlement routing / reconcileVDC → invoice / reconcile rowsFX spread
Enterprise supportRed Hat modelPrivate protocol

x402 / on-chain payment stacks?

Interoperate, not replace. x402 may be one settlement leg; we differentiate on verifiable delivery + cross-agent reputation + settlement-agnostic ontology — not another charge API.

Is Claim your token?

No. Claim is transfer of settlement rights anchored to a signed VDC, not a circulating token.

Why must Manifest say mock / sandbox?

Honesty. Claiming production settlement while only running mock leads to downgrade or removal in the compatibility matrix.

One diagram

Client ──escrow──► settlement partner / mock / sandbox
     │
     └── Exchange state machine ──► VDC (offline reverify)
              ▲
              └── Protocol core: provable delivery, not which bank holds funds

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