We present a scalable, agent-centric distributed computing platform. We use a formalism to characterize distributed systems, show how it applies to some existing distributed systems, and demonstrate the benefits of shifting from a data-centric to an agent-centric model. We present a detailed formal specification of the Holochain system, along with an analysis of its systemic integrity, capacity for evolution, total system computational complexity, implications for use-cases, and current implementation status.