Cycles is an open clearing protocol, a platform to clear the most debt for the most people with the least money. In contrast to existing payment systems focused solely on the transfer of assets, Cycles is focused instead on the clearing of debts by operating over the network of liabilities which underly all payments. Cycles enables businesses to easily and privately upload their obligations, connect their sources of liquidity, settle up, and save. Using the network of obligations as a foundation, Cycles provides a platform for new kinds of currencies, lending protocols, and issuance protocols to be integrated in a risk-reduced environment for the benefit of real-world commerce.