Overview

KayakNet is built as a layered system, with each layer providing specific functionality.

High-Level Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    User Applications                         │
│            (Browser, CLI, Android App)                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                      HTTP/SOCKS Proxy                        │
├──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬────────────────┤
│     Chat     │  Marketplace │   Domains    │    Escrow      │
├──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴────────────────┤
│                       PubSub Layer                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                    Onion Routing Layer                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                  DHT & Peer Discovery                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                   Security Layer                             │
│        (PoW, Rate Limiting, Peer Scoring)                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                   Transport Layer                            │
│              (TCP/QUIC with TLS 1.3)                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Core Components

1. Transport Layer

• Encrypted connections between peers

• Support for TCP and QUIC protocols

• TLS 1.3 with certificate pinning

2. Security Layer

• Proof-of-Work for Sybil resistance

• Rate limiting to prevent abuse

• Peer scoring and ban lists

• Nonce tracking for replay protection

3. DHT (Distributed Hash Table)

• Kademlia-based peer discovery

• Decentralized data storage

• Self-healing network topology

4. Onion Routing

• 3-hop encrypted circuits

• Traffic analysis resistance

• Padding and timing obfuscation

5. PubSub Layer

• Topic-based message routing

• Efficient multicast delivery

• Message deduplication

6. Application Services

• Chat: E2E encrypted messaging

• Marketplace: Listings and orders

• Domains: .kyk naming system

• Escrow: Cryptocurrency payments

Data Flow

Sending a Message

1. User sends message
         ↓
2. Application encrypts (E2E)
         ↓
3. PubSub wraps message
         ↓
4. Onion router creates circuit
         ↓
5. Message sent through 3 hops
         ↓
6. Recipient's node receives
         ↓
7. Unwrap and decrypt
         ↓
8. Deliver to recipient

Network Discovery

1. Node starts
         ↓
2. Connect to bootstrap
         ↓
3. Solve PoW challenge
         ↓
4. Join DHT network
         ↓
5. Discover peers via DHT
         ↓
6. Establish direct connections
         ↓
7. Begin routing traffic

Key Design Decisions

Why Go?

• Single binary deployment

• Cross-platform compilation

• Excellent concurrency model

• Strong standard library

Why Not Tor?

• Full control over privacy features

• Integrated services (chat, marketplace)

• Simpler deployment

• Custom traffic analysis resistance

Why Monero/Zcash?

• Privacy by default

• Shielded transactions

• No blockchain analysis possible

• Community trust

Component Interaction

┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│  Node A  │────▶│  Node B  │────▶│  Node C  │
└──────────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘
     │                │                │
     └────────────────┼────────────────┘
                      │
              ┌───────▼───────┐
              │   Bootstrap   │
              │     Node      │
              └───────────────┘

Persistence

All data is persisted locally:

• Identity keys (never leave device)

• Chat history (encrypted)

• Marketplace data

• Escrow records

• Domain registrations

Scalability

• Horizontal: Add more nodes

• Vertical: Increase per-node capacity

• DHT: Scales logarithmically with nodes

• PubSub: Efficient multicast reduces load