Prisma is not a monolithic application. It is a platform composed of three distinct components, each addressing a different layer of the sovereign information-sharing problem. This post outlines where each component stands today and where we intend to take it in 2026.
ANP — Autonomous Node Protocol In development
ANP is the communication layer that enables Prisma nodes to discover each other, negotiate trust, and exchange messages. Think of it as the postal system of the platform: it does not care about the contents of the messages, only that they arrive reliably and verifiably at the correct destination.
Current status: The protocol specification is stable. A reference implementation in Rust is under active development, with peer discovery and message signing operational. Mutual TLS authentication between nodes is functional in test environments.
2026 milestones:
- Q2: First public release of the ANP reference implementation
- Q3: Interoperability testing with at least two external organisations
- Q4: Protocol specification submitted for community review
Federation Design phase
The Federation layer sits on top of ANP and enables cross-organisation SPARQL queries. When an analyst at organisation A runs a query that spans data held by organisations B and C, the Federation layer decomposes the query, routes sub-queries to the appropriate nodes via ANP, and assembles the results — all while respecting the ODRL access policies of each participating node.
Current status: The query decomposition algorithm has been designed and validated against synthetic datasets. The ODRL policy evaluation engine is being integrated with the SPARQL query planner. Federation currently works within a controlled test cluster of three nodes.
2026 milestones:
- Q2: Policy-aware query routing operational across test nodes
- Q3: Performance benchmarks published for federated queries up to five nodes
- Q4: First real-world federation pilot with a public-sector partner
TALER — Privacy-preserving payments Research
TALER integrates GNU Taler to enable privacy-preserving micropayments within the Prisma ecosystem. This allows data providers to charge for access to premium datasets without requiring users to reveal their identity to the provider — a critical feature for scenarios where both commercial viability and privacy must coexist.
Current status: We have completed a feasibility study on integrating GNU Taler's payment protocol with Prisma's ODRL-based access control. A proof-of-concept demonstrating payment-gated SPARQL query access is under development.
2026 milestones:
- Q3: Proof-of-concept complete with payment-gated dataset access
- Q4: Integration with the Federation layer for cross-organisation paid queries
NLnet NGI alignment
All three components are part of our NLnet NGI funding application. The NGI programme specifically supports projects that strengthen the open internet through privacy, trust, and decentralisation — precisely the values that Prisma is built around.
NLnet's milestone-based funding model aligns well with our component architecture. Each component has clear, independently verifiable deliverables. This means that progress on ANP does not block Federation development, and TALER integration can proceed in parallel once its dependencies on the other two layers are met.
We believe that the combination of these three components — sovereign communication, federated querying, and privacy-preserving payments — addresses a gap that no single existing project fills. Each piece exists in isolation elsewhere; Prisma brings them together into a coherent, standards-based platform.
Follow development at codeberg.org/prisma-platform/prisma. For questions about the roadmap or collaboration opportunities, contact info@prisma-platform.eu.