Pilier Foundation
The Pilier Foundation is the non-profit organisation that governs the Pilier protocol, manages its token economy, and ensures the network serves its public mission: making verifiable trust infrastructure accessible across Europe — free for civic actors, affordable for commercial ones.
Mission
Pilier exists to provide a EU Sovereign Trust Layer for Digital Product Passports and verifiable data integrity — infrastructure that any organisation can build on, without depending on proprietary platforms or speculative token economies.
The Foundation's role is to ensure this infrastructure:
- Remains operationally sustainable (validators are funded, network runs)
- Remains accessible to civic actors (universities, NGOs, municipalities pay nothing)
- Remains open to commercial builders (any SaaS can launch on Pilier)
- Remains governed by its participants (not by its founders)
Legal Structure
The Foundation is incorporated as an Association loi 1901 under French law.
Why this form:
- Free to create — no minimum capital, no notary required
- Can receive public grants (Bpifrance, EU programmes, regional funds)
- Can generate revenue and pay salaries — profit is reinvested in the mission, not distributed to members
- Non-profit status is credible to institutional partners and regulators
- Standard legal form for civic technology initiatives in France
Registered in: France (Lyon)
Governing law: French law
Contact: foundation@pilier.org
What the Foundation Does
The Foundation has five operational responsibilities:
1. Token Economy Management
- Holds and allocates PIL token pools (Commercial Treasury, Civic Treasury, Flagship Product Reserve, Validator Bootstrap Pool)
- Executes PIL ↔ EUR exchanges with validators (at 1:1 rate)
- Monitors and enforces SaaS partner buyback obligations
- Routes excess validator rewards to Civic Treasury
2. Validator Oversight
- Manages the validator onboarding process
- Covers validator operational costs (up to the current income target, adjustable via tPIL governance vote)
- Enforces the Validator Charter
- Proposes validator additions/removals to on-chain governance
3. Civic Programme
- Approves civic partner applications (universities, NGOs, municipalities, industry associations)
- Allocates and renews PIL credits to approved civic partners monthly
- Defines eligibility criteria for free network access
4. Commercial Partner Onboarding
- Reviews and approves SaaS partner applications
- Issues initial micro-tranches (2,000–5,000 PIL) to pilot partners
- Verifies buyback performance before approving limit increases
- Maintains the whitelist of approved token wallets
5. Protocol Stewardship
- Submits governance proposals on behalf of the network
- Executes passed governance decisions (treasury transfers, parameter updates)
- Maintains protocol documentation (pilier.dev/docs)
- Manages infrastructure grants for validators
Governance Structure
The Foundation operates on two distinct levels.
Level 1 — Association Board (Executive)
The Board is the legal governing body of the Association. It makes operational decisions, signs contracts, manages bank accounts, and represents the Foundation to regulators and funders.
Board composition (target: 5–7 members):
| Role | Profile | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Président | Pilier founder | Legal representative, executive authority |
| Founding member | EuraTech (incubator) | Neutral anchor, French Tech ecosystem |
| Industry representative | Textile / circular economy association | Commercial relevance, DPP adoption |
| Standards body | e.g., GS1 France | Product identification standards, DPP alignment |
| Academic | University or engineering school (Hauts-de-France) | Technical credibility, civic legitimacy |
| Public sector | Métropole Européenne de Lille or regional body | Institutional legitimacy, EU sovereignty narrative |
| Independent expert | Blockchain / legal / compliance | Technical governance oversight |
What the Board decides:
- Civic partner approvals and PIL credit allocations
- SaaS partner onboarding and buyback performance reviews
- Infrastructure grant approvals
- Foundation budget and hiring
- Legal and contractual matters
What the Board does NOT decide:
- Protocol parameters (fees, inflation rate, validator income target)
- Validator set changes
- Runtime upgrades
These are decided by on-chain governance (Level 2).
Conflict of Interest Policy:
When a Board decision directly concerns an entity in which a Board member has a financial or operational interest, that member must declare the conflict, abstain from the vote, and leave the room during deliberation. This applies in particular to decisions concerning commercial SaaS partners that are affiliated with Board members.
Level 2 — tPIL On-Chain Governance (Protocol)
Protocol parameters are governed by tPIL holders via on-chain voting — not by the Board. This ensures the protocol cannot be captured by any single organisation, including the Foundation itself.
What on-chain governance decides:
- Transaction fees
- Inflation rate
- Validator operational cost target (currently €500/month/node)
- Validator set (additions and removals)
- Runtime upgrades
The Board is bound to execute passed governance decisions. It cannot veto or override on-chain votes within their defined scope.
See Governance for full details.
Funding
The Foundation is funded from multiple sources:
| Source | Description |
|---|---|
| SaaS buybacks | Commercial partners buy back PIL from the Foundation at 1:1 rate |
| Public grants | Bpifrance (France 2030), EU Horizon, regional programmes (Rev3 Hauts-de-France) |
| Institutional contributions | Board members and validators may contribute operational resources |
| Validator excess returns | PIL above the monthly operational threshold returned by validators |
| 5% of transaction fees | Automatically routed to Civic Treasury by protocol |
All revenue is reinvested in the Foundation's mission. No surplus is distributed to Board members or founders.
Partners
Infrastructure Partners
- OVH Cloud — hosting infrastructure for validator nodes (Years 1–2 covered by OVH Startup Program grants)
Funding Partners
- Bpifrance — France 2030 programme, Défi ESG Numérique
- EuraTech — incubator and founding Board member
Validator Network (Phase 1)
Three Foundation-operated nodes (Strasbourg ×2, Gravelines ×1). Target: 5–7 institutional validators by end of 2026, including universities and public bodies in Hauts-de-France.
Relationship with Validité
Validité is the anchor SaaS product built on Pilier — it is operationally separate from the Foundation but economically linked to it.
Key points:
- Validité operates from the Flagship Product Reserve (600,000 PIL) held by the Foundation
- As Validité scales, it begins buying back PIL from the Foundation proportionally to its share of network activity
- The Foundation's Président also serves as CEO of Validité — this relationship is governed by the Conflict of Interest Policy above
- Validité is not represented on the Board to avoid capture of Foundation decisions in its favour
This separation ensures the Foundation can serve all commercial partners on equal terms, not just its founding product.
Roadmap
| Phase | Period | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation setup | Q2 2026 | Register Association loi 1901, open bank account |
| First Board | Q3 2026 | Onboard 3–4 founding Board members |
| First civic partners | Q3 2026 | First university and NGO PIL credit allocations |
| First commercial partners | Q4 2026 | First SaaS micro-tranches issued |
| Grant applications | Q4 2026 | Bpifrance Défi ESG Numérique, Rev3 Hauts-de-France |
| Expanded Board | 2027 | Full 7-member Board with EU representation |
| On-chain governance | Q2 2027 | tPIL governance activated, Board scope reduced |
FAQ
Q: Is the Foundation the same as Pilier SAS?
No. Pilier SAS is the commercial entity that developed the protocol and operates Validité. The Foundation is the independent non-profit that governs the protocol and manages the token economy. They share the same founder but have separate legal personalities, bank accounts, and governance.
Q: Can the Foundation be dissolved?
In principle, yes — any association can be dissolved. However, the token economy and protocol governance are on-chain. If the Foundation were dissolved, the protocol would continue to operate, and governance would fall to tPIL holders. This is by design: the Foundation is a steward, not a controller.
Q: Can the Foundation change the token supply?
No unilaterally. Any change to inflation rates or supply parameters requires a formal tPIL governance vote. The Foundation can propose but not impose.
Q: How do I contact the Foundation?
📧 foundation@pilier.org
🌐 pilier.org
💬 forum.pilier.net