Open Grant Proposal: ENS on IPFS with NameSys

[sshmatrix]

Open Grant Proposal: NameSys: ENS on IPFS

Project Name: NameSys: ENS Off-Chain Records Manager

Proposal Category: Applications

Individual or Entity Name: NAMESYS

Proposer: orgs/namesys-eth

(Optional) Filecoin ecosystem affiliations: null

(Optional) Technical Sponsor: null

Do you agree to open source all work you do on behalf of this RFP under the MIT/Apache-2 dual-license?: YES

Project Summary

NameSys is introducing an innovative solution for Ethereum Name Service (ENS) users to store their ENS records off-chain on IPFS in a gasless, secure and autonomous manner. By combining IPNS and CCIP-Read, NameSys allows users to enjoy free and secure ENS record updates, while also providing substantial secondary benefits through its stealth payments feature. This unique approach addresses the long-standing issue of high gas costs associated with on-chain updates, making it accessible to ENS enthusiasts and Ethereum users of all levels.

Due to its gasless nature, NameSys opens up avenues for builders in the Ethereum community to develop features previously thought impossible or unfeasible. One such game-changing feature is the no-cost & no-logs private/stealth payments to ENS domains and Ethereum addresses via NameSys! This service is at par with Umbra Cash while being 99% more cost-effective and about an equal measure in privacy preservation due to its off-chain nature.

Overall, NameSys provides a game-changing solution for ENS users by enabling free and secure off-chain record management using IPFS. With its focus on security, autonomy, and dynamic possibilities, NameSys aims to transform the ENS experience by making free and secure records, and private transactions forever accessible to all users. We at NameSys are dedicated to proactively adding more utility to ENS domains and the IPFS network, with the aim of appending to the Ethereum blockchain a barrier-free and off-chain infrastructure!

Impact

NameSys primarily addresses the critical issue of exorbitant gas fees associated with on-chain ENS record updates. This obstacle has been a significant deterrent to wider ENS adoption, and by extension, limits the appeal and utility of the Ethereum network for a range of decentralised applications. NameSys introduces a gasless, secure, and autonomous approach to tackle this, making it significantly easier and more cost-effective for users to interact with the ENS ecosystem. This, in turn, has the potential to drive broader engagement with Ethereum itself, acting as a catalyst for its scalability.

NameSys infrastructure also addresses security concerns that arise from the storage of sensitive records with centralised storage providers. By leveraging a non-custodial and secure solution for record storage through upgradeable IPNS, NameSys provides a benchmark for a secure integration standard for IPFS in the Ethereum network. But it doesn't stop there; the addition of secondary features such as stealth payments provide substantial benefits such as zero-cost & no-logs private transactions. This is a crucial innovation that doesn't just enrich the ENS offering but opens up new avenues for the integration of financial privacy measures across Ethereum-based decentralised applications.

Outcomes

The NameSys infrastructure is equipped with a custom resolver CCIP2 which is capable of reading off-chain records from IPFS/IPNS. Given the trust concerns of hosting sensitive records off-chain, NameSys allows users to securely generate IPNS keypairs from deterministic wallet signatures. The insta-generated IPNS private key is then used to host off-chain records without sharing it with any third-party service, thereby ensuring autonomous authority on write access and future upgrades.

The NameSys process involves a one-time initial setup, where users set their resolver to CCIP2 and establish their parent IPNS contenthash (or HTTP gateway) on-chain. This contenthash serves as a container for the typical ENS records and other Ethereum-related data. With each record update, users regenerate their IPNS keys and sign the data with their unique signatures; this ensures that their records cannot be tampered with. The records are then pinned to the IPNS public key using the w3name API. Subsequent IPNS key regenerations require the user's signature and secret password, offering a robust and secure hands-off key management. The resulting implementation is secure, free and infinitely upgradeable. Thus, the final infrastructure consists of broadly two components:

• Contract: ENS Resolver capable of reading off-chain IPFS content using CCIP-Read and verifying its authenticity, and
• Client: NameSys Client where users can edit, sign and publish their ENS Records on IPFS/IPNS at zero cost.

The scope of the requested grant consists of full implementation of the 2-part off-chain IPFS + ENS stack as mentioned above. The implementation for this is available at https://namesys.xyz or https://namesys.eth.limo.

Roadmap, Adoption and Growth Strategies

NameSys is already a fully functioning infrastructure, and we are seeking funds for future integrations, maintenance and research & development, including upgrades to the current stack.

Adoption through Integrations

• Objective: Collaborate with ENS registrars and marketplaces such as GoDID, ENSVision, UnstoppableDomains etc to facilitate NameSys integration
• Tasks: Engage with registrars for integration, explore marketplace partnerships, and develop integration APIs
• Deliverables: Integration with GoDID, ENSVision and similar registrars

Team Growth and Development Acceleration

• Objective: Strengthen the development team and accelerate project output
• Tasks: Recruit one part-time developer, onboard and train the new team member, and allocate resources for faster development
• Deliverables: New team member onboarded and put to dedicated work on integrations

Anti-phishing dApp Store

• Objective: Deploy dApp Store on IPFS for ENS users aimed at resolving phishing scams
• Tasks: Code client-side dApp Store where users can access all major open-source dApps at <dApp>.domain.eth
• Deliverables: Full dApp Store infrastructure deployment

Total Budget Requested

Milestone	Description	Deliverables	Completion Date	Funding
Launch	Launch of NameSys	Completed	18 September 2023	$5,000
Upgrades	Upgrades to NameSys	See Roadmap	18 March 2024	$5,000

Maintenance and Upgrade Plans

Faster IPNS

• Objective: Reduce latency of updates by speeding up IPNS propagation
• Tasks: Deploy ENS-dedicated access-controlled w3name API. Improve IPNS propagation speed by parallel publishing to public as well as private w3name APIs.
• Deliverables: w3name Cloudflare deployment and IPNS multi-publishing

Team

Team Members

• sshmatrix.eth
• freetib.eth

Team Member ~LinkedIn~ GitHub Profiles

• sshmatrix
• 0xc0de4c0ffee

Team Website

orgs/namesys-eth

Relevant Experience

The two team members are seasoned cryptographers and developers from India and Nepal, with a diverse technological background.

Team code repositories

orgs/namesys-eth

Additional Information

null

[ErinOCon]

Hi @sshmatrix, thank you for your proposal and for your patience with our review. Unfortunately, we will not be moving forward with a grant at this time. Wishing you the best as you continue building!

Note: To contact our team with grant program related inquiries, please send an email to grants@fil.org.