🤖 Dead Internet Crisis

**Crypto payments have demonstrated they can work at global scale.** Stablecoin transfer volumes now reach tens of trillions annually, driven by faster settlement and lower fees. The next frontier is **verification and identity**. Beyond moving money, people need to: - Prove they're real humans - Own and control their personal data - Port their reputation across platforms **Zero-knowledge proofs combined with stablecoins** are positioned to solve these larger problems. The technology allows verification without exposing raw personal data—when payments scale, people share names rather than identifiers.

XION is developing the first blockchain implementation for email-based verification, marking a significant step toward mainstream crypto adoption. **Key Development:** - First layer-1 blockchain to integrate email verification directly into its infrastructure - Aims to remove technical barriers that prevent everyday users from accessing Web3 - Part of XION's broader mission to make blockchain technology accessible to consumers **Why It Matters:** Email verification represents a familiar authentication method for billions of users worldwide. By bridging this traditional system with blockchain technology, XION is addressing one of crypto's biggest obstacles: user onboarding complexity. The feature is currently in development with a "Soon™" timeline indicated. This approach aligns with XION's positioning as a consumer-focused layer-1 blockchain designed to rebuild ownership systems without requiring technical crypto knowledge. This development follows the project's October 2024 milestone, which was described as blockchain technology's first close integration with everyday life.

The proposed solution addresses a critical infrastructure problem: **DKIM public keys should be stored on-chain** rather than relying on traditional caching methods. **Why on-chain storage matters:** - Permanent accessibility - Cryptographic security - Full auditability **Current DNS vulnerabilities:** - Keys can change without notice - Historical keys become inaccessible - DNS systems face blocking and censorship risks - No cryptographic proof of key correctness The fundamental issue is that existing email verification systems depend entirely on trusting DNS infrastructure, which introduces multiple points of failure and security concerns. Moving DKIM keys to blockchain infrastructure would create an immutable, transparent record that eliminates these trust assumptions.

**The DNS Trust Problem** Email verification systems claiming to be "trustless" actually depend heavily on DNS infrastructure, which introduces several critical vulnerabilities: - **Keys can be changed without notice** - no historical record available - **DNS can be blocked or censored** by authorities - **No cryptographic proof** exists to verify key correctness - **Centralized control** through ICANN and domain registrars The core issue: builders assume DNS will always remain available and honest, but this creates a massive centralized dependency in systems designed to be decentralized. The entire verification framework relies on trusting DNS infrastructure rather than cryptographic guarantees.

**The DNS Dependency Problem** zkEmail applications face a critical centralization issue that undermines their trustless design. When users prove they received an email from Gmail, the app must verify it using Gmail's public key - retrieved through DNS lookup. **Why This Matters** - DNS is controlled by ICANN and managed by domain registrars - The system can be censored or manipulated - Creates a single point of failure in otherwise decentralized verification **The Core Issue** Every email verification system makes the same trust assumption: DNS will remain available and honest. This introduces a massive centralized dependency into systems designed to be trustless. Developers building zkEmail applications need to acknowledge this architectural weakness and consider alternative approaches to key distribution that don't rely on centralized infrastructure.