Pairwise methods have been part of Ethereum’s public goods funding toolkit for years, but their full potential has been limited by fragmented and partial applications.
This essay treats pairwise methods as forming a design paradigm for distributed capital allocation, connecting algorithm and pair selection with interface and audience development to form a coherent, end-to-end system.
The goal is to equip practitioners with a complete context for deploying pairwise methods effectively.
I have been working with pairwise methods for distributed governance since 2016; this essay reflects lessons learned across research and practice.
Feedback and discussion welcome.




