MailCoin: A Decentralized Cryptocurrency Payment Network Based on Email Protocol

[Blonskr]

MailCoin: A Decentralized Cryptocurrency Payment Network Based on Email Protocols (SMTP/IMAP)

Abstract
This paper presents MailCoin, a decentralized payment network based on the email protocols (SMTP/IMAP). By leveraging the email service infrastructure, which is already used by all internet users, MailCoin aims to create a decentralized cryptocurrency payment network with strong anonymity, immutability, censorship resistance, low entry barriers, and zero transaction fees.

Key Innovations:
   1.   Email as Wallet Address: The email address directly serves as the user’s wallet address, eliminating the need for complicated private key management.
   2.   Email-Based Transactions: Users can complete payments and transactions by simply sending emails.
   3.   Email Server Mining: Validators parse emails to verify transactions and submit the ledger.
   4.   Decentralized Email Resolution Service (DMR): A distributed address system based on an improved Kademlia DHT.
   5.   Lightweight BFT-PoS Consensus: Adaptive time window mechanism (Δ=30s±20%).
   6.   Transaction Cost Transfer Model: A token inflation model replacing traditional gas fees, enabling zero transaction fees.

Experimental results show that MailCoin outperforms traditional blockchain cryptocurrencies in terms of double-spending attack resistance (success rate < 0.01%), transaction throughput (1,218 TPS), and energy efficiency (0.0023 kWh/tx).

Core Innovations:
   1.   Email as Wallet: The email address serves as the wallet address, removing the need for complex private key management. Your inbox becomes your personal cryptocurrency hub.
   2.   Zero Transaction Fees: Transaction fees are replaced by token inflation, so users do not need to worry about gas fees or transaction delays. Payments can be made globally at a low cost.
   3.   Decentralized Security: Built on SMTP/IMAP protocols, MailCoin achieves decentralized payment and transaction validation without relying on centralized entities or servers, ensuring user data and transaction privacy and security.

Core Advantages:
   1.   Simplified User Experience: No need to remember complex wallet addresses or manage multiple private keys. Sending payments is as simple as sending an email. Anyone with an email address can easily get started.
   2.   Censorship Resistance: Through decentralized email protocols and a distributed network, MailCoin can resist censorship and protect users’ financial transactions from external interference.
   3.   Efficient and Scalable: With an innovative consensus mechanism and network architecture, MailCoin can handle large-scale transaction demands, supporting millions of users engaging in real-time transactions without compromising performance.

1. Introduction

1.1 Research Background

Existing blockchain-based cryptocurrency systems face several challenges:
   1.   High Entry Barriers: The cost of using decentralized wallets is high for current cryptocurrency users.
   2.   Weak Censorship Resistance and Anonymity: Some organizations can trace blockchain transactions to real-world identities.
   3.   Incompatibility of Transaction Fees with Micro Payments: The average gas fee for Ethereum is $2.1, while Bitcoin’s fees are even higher, making small payments unfeasible.

The email protocol (SMTP/IMAP) is one of the most widely used communication protocols on the internet, with inherent decentralization properties. Its design aligns with the core principles of Web3.0, which calls for a lack of centralized control, allowing anyone to freely set up an email server and interconnect with global servers. Strong censorship resistance is inherent, as email relies on open protocols (SMTP/IMAP) rather than closed APIs, making it difficult for governments or organizations to completely block.

Given the asynchronous communication, global relays, and zero marginal cost features of email protocols (RFC 5321), they provide an ideal foundation for building a payment network.

1.2 Core Contributions
   1.   Protocol Layer Innovations:
   •   Encoding transactions as RFC 5322 standard emails, compatible with multiple platforms.
   •   Developing the decentralized resolution service (DMR) to replace centralized DNS resolution services and achieve censorship-resistant address resolution.
   2.   Consensus Mechanism Optimization:
   •   Asynchronous BFT-PoS algorithm based on Cosmos SDK.
   •   Dynamic validator election mechanism.
   3.   Economic Model Design:
   •   A sustainable incentive model with zero transaction fees.
   •   Token inflation control strategy.

Ultimate Goal:
The ultimate goal of MailCoin is to create a globally universal decentralized payment platform that breaks the technical barriers of traditional cryptocurrencies, offering a simple, secure, and low-cost transaction network to global users. We aim to enable everyone to make global payments freely, regardless of their technical knowledge.

Future Outlook:
MailCoin will continue to drive the revolution of “Decentralization 2.0.” As our user base expands, we expect MailCoin to become the mainstream method for global cryptocurrency payments, driving microtransactions, borderless trading, and personal financial freedom worldwide. Through decentralized innovations, we will bring new opportunities to the global economy, building a fairer, safer, and more efficient financial ecosystem.

Download MailCoin Academic Paper

[Blonskr]

The attachment is the academic paper on MailCoin.

[markm]

Read the paper and looked at the forum threads but nothing seems to point to the actual ForkStar client you want people to use to join in?


-MarkM-

[Blonskr]

Read the paper and looked at the forum threads but nothing seems to point to the actual ForkStar client you want people to use to join in?


-MarkM-

Hello,

The purpose of publishing this academic paper is purely for academic discussion. The project is still in the development phase, and we hope to attract top engineers, mathematicians, and cryptographers to join us in building the MailCoin mainnet. We need more outstanding talents to create a more open and free cryptocurrency ecosystem together.

Excitingly, this morning, we reached an important milestone—the metzdowd.com Maillist, which first published the Bitcoin whitepaper, reviewed and approved my paper and officially published it in Cryptography Digest Vol 142, Issue 4. This marks the first cryptocurrency-related academic paper published in this forum since Bitcoin’s inception over a decade ago. We hope that MailCoin can bring more freedom to the world and help usher in the era of Decentralization 2.0.

As for ForkStar, it is developed based on an open-source project and currently serves only as a communication tool for the early developer community, facilitating discussions, recruitment, and technical collaboration. ForkStar itself is an end-to-end encrypted communication tool, operating over the SMTP/IMAP protocol, ensuring complete anonymity and privacy protection for users. In the future, MailCoin will also be built on ForkStar as the core client, providing users with a secure and efficient encrypted payment and communication experience.

We look forward to more technical experts joining us in driving the growth of the MailCoin ecosystem together!

[markm]

So, again, where/how does one download and build/install ForkStar?


-MarkM-

[Blonskr]

So, again, where/how does one download and build/install ForkStar?


-MarkM-

Markm, ForkStar is now available for download on Google, as it has just been approved. Everyone can freely discuss anything related to MailCoin here. This platform is completely secure.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=chat.forkstar

[markm]

Oh its closed source? And only for phones / tablets?

Sorry I imagined it would be the free open source tamperproof email platform upon which the mail financial stuff was going to be based.

Its all very well to claim it is secure but without inspection of the source code trying to discover whether that is true would require decompilers and such presumably...


-MarkM-

[Blonskr]

Oh its closed source? And only for phones / tablets?

Sorry I imagined it would be the free open source tamperproof email platform upon which the mail financial stuff was going to be based.

Its all very well to claim it is secure but without inspection of the source code trying to discover whether that is true would require decompilers and such presumably...


-MarkM-

Yes, ForkStar will be fully open-source, as it is built on an open-source project. Its purpose is to provide a smoother user experience for MailCoin in the future. Eventually, ForkStar will integrate all of MailCoin’s functionalities, offering users a better payment experience.

MailCoin requires a censorship-resistant IM tool, serving as an IM group for early-stage developers to facilitate secure and decentralized communication.

Its GitHub repository is: https://github.com/Blonskr/forkstar-android

There will be compatible versions for various platforms in the future.

[Andrija Branislav]

I also saw on Bitget there is a coin that has a similar name to the token you mentioned called DMAIL. Is this one of their competitors in terms of trading concept or is there something more different from the concept you have mentioned above.

[Blonskr]

I also saw on Bitget there is a coin that has a similar name to the token you mentioned called DMAIL. Is this one of their competitors in terms of trading concept or is there something more different from the concept you have mentioned above.

Yes, I’ve noticed that, but our technical architecture is completely different. Fundamentally, we are not using blockchain to modify email; instead, we are building an entirely new cryptocurrency category on top of existing email protocols (SMTP/IMAP). Therefore, both in terms of theoretical foundation and technical implementation, we are fundamentally different from all existing cryptocurrency networks.

[Blonskr]

Let’s take a moment to reflect. One of the core challenges I see with Bitcoin is the lack of a clear reward mechanism for code contributors. This has significantly hindered its long-term development.

To ensure the sustainable growth of MailCoin, we need to establish a transparent and long-term incentive system that fairly rewards all developers contributing to the ecosystem. By doing so, we can foster a healthier and more robust development environment.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

[memehunter]

I should refrain from praising or criticizing the project as I do not have enough technical knowledge. I will wait for input from more experienced members. Having said that, prime-facie your project looks interesting. May I ask when the ICO will happen? (tentative date).
One more thing, apart from the reliability of email servers, many people are using centralized email companies, will that be a problem?   

[Blonskr]

I should refrain from praising or criticizing the project as I do not have enough technical knowledge. I will wait for input from more experienced members. Having said that, prime-facie your project looks interesting. May I ask when the ICO will happen? (tentative date).
One more thing, apart from the reliability of email servers, many people are using centralized email companies, will that be a problem?   

1、Yes, the ICO may take place next week or the week after.
2、In fact, email servers worldwide inherently form a decentralized network, functioning similarly to “nodes.” They communicate with each other using SMTP and IMAP protocols, which is why centralized services like Gmail can send emails to other centralized services like Outlook. What we are doing is enabling cryptocurrency transactions between email accounts based on SMTP and IMAP. It’s important to note that we are not blockchain-izing email; instead, we are building a brand-new cryptocurrency payment network on top of existing email protocols, which is fundamentally different from traditional cryptocurrency technologies.

[Blonskr]

ForkStar Order is an anonymous open-source organization that pursues ultimate freedom, consisting of members from different countries and ethnicities. We are establishing a new order of “Decentralization 2.0” and firmly believe that the emergence of MailCoin will disrupt the existing cryptocurrency ecosystem, establishing a new production relationship. The moment MailCoin is born, we cannot foresee the future shape of cryptocurrency exchanges, but we can be certain— it will definitely be different from what it is now!

Now, we need you!
MailCoin’s goal is to recruit 5,000 mathematicians, cryptographers, and top engineers from around the world. Together, we will use technology to build a new order! As an open-source organization, all we require is for you to contribute code remotely to our project on GitHub.

Contribution reward rules are as follows:
1. Code contributions for general features: $10,000 per merge.
2. Code contributions for core features: $50,000 per merge.
3. Code submissions that are not adopted will still receive an encouragement fund of $500 per submission.
Rewards will be issued in either BTC or native MailCoin tokens equivalent to the amount of the merge on the same day.

ForkStar Order’s statement:
We don’t care who you are, what your name is, your skin color, your degree, or what your working hours and time zone are.

Please add my contact information through the ForkStar client, and my friend QR code will be provided below. Once you’ve added me, please share with me a brief message about your strengths and what you can contribute to MailCoin. We welcome you to join ForkStar Order!
http://mailcoin.org/images/uploaded/2025021307174867ad9c9cae907.jpg

Note:
ForkStar Client is a decentralized end-to-end encrypted communication tool. Its core advantage lies in not relying on any centralized servers, offering censorship resistance, and ensuring complete anonymity. All code is open-source and subject to security audits, eliminating any backdoors. In the future, we will use ForkStar as the foundation to develop the official MailCoin payment client.

[stum74]

Im sorry, but WTF?
I ask the forum administrator to respond to the censorship from the moderator.
Why the f*ck are you trying to create decentralized payment systems if you censor other people's thoughts? How are you any better than the fu*ng government?

A reply of yours, quoted below, was deleted by a Bitcoin Forum moderator. Posts are most frequently deleted because they are off-topic, though they can also be deleted for other reasons. In the future, please avoid posting things that need to be deleted.

The Future of Information Exchange and Financial Freedom Under Digital Censorship

In the modern world, totalitarian states have already begun a systematic war against free access to information, using digital censorship as their primary weapon. We are witnessing the increasing blocking of well-known communication protocols and network ports, directly affecting VPN services, encrypted messaging applications, and access to globally censored internet resources. If an information exchange protocol is not designed to withstand censorship, it will inevitably become a target for suppression in authoritarian regimes.

The Evolution of Digital Censorship

Governments are no longer relying solely on simple IP-based blacklists. Instead, they employ sophisticated tools such as:

• Deep Packet Inspection (DPI): This technology allows state-controlled ISPs to analyze internet traffic in real-time, distinguishing between standard HTTPS traffic and encrypted VPN or Tor connections.
  
  Traffic Fingerprinting: AI-driven analytics enable pattern recognition of certain data structures, allowing the detection of obfuscation techniques used by anti-censorship tools.
  
  Centralized Control over ISPs: In countries like China, Russia, and Iran, major ISPs are either state-controlled or strictly regulated, ensuring government influence over all data flows.
  
  Legal Enforcement: Even in democratic nations, legal mechanisms are being developed to restrict privacy-enhancing technologies under the guise of anti-crime measures.

The Risk for Decentralized Technologies Like MailCoin

While MailCoin introduces an innovative approach by utilizing email as a financial transaction medium, it faces critical weaknesses in the battle against censorship:

• Reliance on SMTP/IMAP Protocols – Standard email ports (25, 465, 587, 993) are easy targets for government blacklisting and DPI filtering.
  
  Centralization of Email Services – Major providers such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo could be pressured into disabling MailCoin-related transactions.
  
  Lack of Traffic Obfuscation – If MailCoin traffic is identifiable through network analysis, it will be blocked just like Tor, VPNs, and P2P communication tools in restricted regions.

Potential Solutions for Censorship Resistance

For a system like MailCoin to survive in hostile environments, it must integrate advanced censorship resistance mechanisms:

• TLS Steganography: Embedding encrypted financial transactions within standard HTTPS traffic on port 443 to make them indistinguishable from normal web browsing.
  
  Peer-to-Peer Mail Networks: Decentralized alternatives to traditional email (such as Bitmessage or DarkMail) that operate independently of corporate-controlled servers.
  
  Adaptive Obfuscation Algorithms: Continuous randomization of traffic patterns to evade machine-learning-based censorship detection.

The Larger Battle: Financial Freedom vs. Corporate and State Control

Decentralization and financial sovereignty inherently oppose the centralized structures of corporate and governmental control. While email remains a legacy system primarily used by corporations and formal institutions, the broader goal of decentralized finance (DeFi) is to dismantle these very systems, not integrate with them. If the future of financial transactions depends on a medium already under corporate and governmental scrutiny, its viability as a truly independent system is questionable.

If we are to advance true financial sovereignty, we must develop fully decentralized, censorship-resistant protocols that cannot be easily blocked or co-opted. The evolution of Web3 communication (such as Nostr, Matrix, or peer-to-peer cryptographic messaging) presents a far more promising foundation than legacy email systems.

Final Thought

If a digital financial system is not resistant to censorship, it will be ineffective in totalitarian-controlled regions. Cryptocurrencies and decentralized applications must not only remove reliance on banks and governments but also ensure total anonymity and unblockable access. This is not just about technology; it is about the very principle of freedom itself.