It is quite natural for electronic institutions to follow the structure of their physical counterparts. However, this is not always appropriate or desirable in a virtual setting. We report on the prototyping of an alternative architecture for electronic auctions based around the concept of an interagent and building on the considerable body of work in the distributed algorithms literature to plot a path toward resilient trading frameworks. In particular, we have adapted the classical Leader Election algorithm for resolving bids in a generic auction scheme as well as identifying the factors which differentiate the physical auction protocols in such a way that new auction protocols can be plugged into the scheme by the specification of the relevant (sub-)processes. We have used the process algebra called the π-calculus to specify both the generic scheme and the specific protocols of first-price, second-price, Dutch and English. The bid resolution process has been prototyped in Pict and is now going to be integrated into the FishMarket electronic auction house.