Mutual credit means everybody can extend credit to another peer, and there is no centralized issuance of credit. The agreements themselves are fully p2p without any 3rd party. Using mutual credit (which the Holochain pattern/framework is specifically designed to do) [1] also means the mutual credit protocol/agreement itself can evolve without being bottlenecked by the developments of said 3rd party.

"Check out, for example, mutual credit systems like Sardex, where small businesses get together to issue money as credit to each other. Everyone starts from zero in the system, and then goes into and out of short-term debt to one another by either receiving goods and services — which creates a future obligation owed — or by being prepared to offer goods and services to people on the system, which earns you positive claims on others—otherwise known as money." [2]

[1] https://medium.com/holochain/holochain-reinventing-applicati...

[2] https://howwegettonext.com/the-future-of-money-depends-on-bu...