Core Philosophy

Whisper is built as a private coordination protocol, not a messaging interface.

It is designed for environments where identity, communication, and value must operate together under adversarial conditions. Chat is not an add-on. It is the execution layer through which intent is expressed, signed, and settled.

The system is structured around four core principles that define how privacy, trust minimization, and coordination are enforced at the protocol level.

🛡️ Self-Sovereignty First

In Whisper, you do not ask permission to communicate. You prove the right to do so cryptographically.

Just as wallets give users control over assets, Whisper gives users control over coordination. Identity and access are derived directly from your wallet. There are no accounts, no logins, and no centralized identity systems involved.

• No usernames, emails, or phone numbers

• No centralized identity provider

• No tracking of who you message, when, or how

You control your keys. Your identity follows from that control. Communication is bound to ownership, not registration.

🧬 On-Chain Identity

Whisper ties communication to the most verifiable primitive in Web3, the wallet.

Each message is authenticated by a wallet signature. Identity is proven, not assumed. This removes ambiguity around off-chain identities and allows communication to function as an extension of on-chain authority without exposing your wallet history.

ENS names can be used for readability, but the underlying identity remains the wallet. There is no profile layer and no public directory. Interaction happens directly between verified counterparts.

This is not social messaging. It is private, verifiable coordination.

🧱 Zero Trust by Design

Whisper assumes the network is hostile by default.

Relayers, transport layers, and infrastructure are treated as untrusted. Privacy does not rely on good behavior. It is enforced by design.

Messages are end to end encrypted at the client and transmitted off chain using XMTP. Only the intended recipient can decrypt them. There are no shared secrets stored centrally and no readable data available to relayers.

Authentication is handled exclusively through wallet signatures. There are no passwords to reset, no admin accounts, and no databases to breach.

Each conversation operates independently. There is no global session state and no persistent presence data unless the user explicitly creates it.

♾️ Composable & Interoperable

Whisper is built to function as a coordination layer across Web3 systems, not as a standalone chat product.

Messages can carry signed intent. Accept payment. Confirm escrow. Acknowledge delivery. Unlock funds. Actions are explicit, verifiable, and require user approval.

Whisper can be embedded into other applications to enable private, wallet bound coordination without exposing user metadata or intent publicly. This allows protocols, DAOs, and tools to coordinate sensitive actions without moving users into external platforms.

There is no public social graph and no global feed. Interaction is contextual, private, and purpose driven.

Whisper does not try to connect everyone.

It allows the right parties to coordinate privately, execute actions safely, and prove outcomes without leaking structure to the outside world.