FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SIP Protocol, organized by topic.

General

What is SIP Protocol?

SIP (Shielded Intents Protocol) is a privacy layer for cross-chain transactions. It integrates with NEAR Intents to provide configurable transaction privacy using stealth addresses, Pedersen commitments, and viewing keys.

Think of it as HTTPS for blockchain transactions — one toggle to shield sender, amount, and recipient.

Who should use SIP?

SIP is designed for:

• DAOs needing private treasury management
• DEXs wanting to offer privacy-preserving swaps
• Institutions requiring compliant privacy with audit capability
• Wallets adding privacy features for users
• Any application where transaction privacy matters

Is SIP a new blockchain?

No. SIP is an application layer that works on top of existing blockchains. It doesn’t require any protocol changes to underlying chains like Ethereum, Solana, or NEAR.

What chains does SIP support?

Currently supported through NEAR Intents:

• Ethereum (ETH, ERC-20 tokens)
• Solana (SOL, SPL tokens)
• NEAR (NEAR, NEP-141 tokens)
• Bitcoin (via bridges)

More chains are added as NEAR Intents expands support.

Is SIP open source?

Yes. SIP Protocol is fully open source under the MIT license:

• SDK: github.com/sip-protocol/sip-protocol
• Docs: github.com/sip-protocol/docs-sip

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Technical

What cryptographic primitives does SIP use?

Primitive	Purpose	Implementation
Stealth Addresses	Unlinkable one-time addresses	EIP-5564 style, secp256k1
Pedersen Commitments	Hide amounts, enable verification	Homomorphic over secp256k1
Viewing Keys	Selective disclosure	Hierarchical derivation
Encryption	Payload encryption	XChaCha20-Poly1305
Hashing	Commitments, derivation	SHA-256, BLAKE2

What is a stealth address?

A stealth address is a one-time address derived from a recipient’s public keys. Each transaction generates a fresh address that:

• Cannot be linked to the recipient’s identity
• Cannot be connected to other transactions
• Can only be spent by the intended recipient

const { stealthAddress, ephemeralPublicKey } = generateStealthAddress(metaAddress)
// stealthAddress: unique per transaction
// ephemeralPublicKey: published for recipient to scan

Learn more: Stealth Addresses

What is a Pedersen commitment?

A Pedersen commitment hides a value while allowing mathematical operations:

C = v·G + r·H

Where:
- v = value (hidden)
- r = blinding factor (random)
- G, H = generator points

Properties:

• Hiding: Cannot determine v from C
• Binding: Cannot find different v' that produces same C
• Homomorphic: C(a) + C(b) = C(a+b) (can verify sums without revealing values)

What is a viewing key?

A viewing key enables selective disclosure — sharing transaction details with specific parties (auditors, regulators) while keeping them hidden from the public.

// Generate scoped viewing key
const auditKey = deriveViewingKey(masterKey, 'audit/2024/q1')

// Auditor can decrypt transactions in scope
const details = decryptWithViewing(encryptedTx, auditKey)

Learn more: Viewing Keys

What are privacy levels?

SIP supports three privacy levels:

Level	Sender	Amount	Recipient	Compliance
TRANSPARENT	Visible	Visible	Visible	Full
SHIELDED	Hidden	Hidden	Hidden	None
COMPLIANT	Hidden	Hidden	Hidden	Via viewing key

Learn more: Privacy Levels

How fast is SIP?

Privacy operations add minimal overhead:

Operation	Time
Generate stealth address	~2ms
Create commitment	~1ms
Encrypt payload	~0.5ms
Full shielded intent	~15ms

Total overhead is typically under 30ms per transaction.

What’s the SDK bundle size?

The @sip-protocol/sdk package:

• Full bundle: ~150KB (minified)
• Tree-shaken (typical): ~80KB
• Gzipped: ~25KB

No heavy dependencies — uses @noble/curves and @noble/hashes which are audited and lightweight.

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Privacy

Is SIP fully anonymous?

SIP provides strong privacy but not absolute anonymity:

What SIP hides:

• Sender identity (via commitments)
• Transaction amounts (via Pedersen commitments)
• Recipient address (via stealth addresses)

What SIP doesn’t hide:

• That a transaction occurred
• Approximate timing
• Chain-level metadata

For maximum privacy, combine SIP with operational security practices.

Can transactions be traced?

By the public: No — they see only cryptographic commitments and one-time addresses.

By viewing key holders: Yes — authorized parties can decrypt transaction details within their scope.

By SIP team: No — SIP is non-custodial and has no special access.

How does compliance work?

SIP supports compliance through viewing keys:

1. Organization generates master viewing key
2. Derives scoped keys for auditors (e.g., audit/2024/q1)
3. Auditors can only see transactions within their authorized scope
4. Public sees encrypted data

This enables regulatory compliance while maintaining privacy from the general public.

Is SIP sanctioned like Tornado Cash?

No. SIP is designed differently:

Aspect	Tornado Cash	SIP
Compliance	None	Viewing keys for auditors
Fixed amounts	Yes (0.1, 1, 10 ETH)	No — any amount
Architecture	Mixer pool	Intent-based
Anonymity set	Shared pool	Per-transaction

SIP prioritizes compliant privacy — privacy from the public with transparency for authorized parties.

What’s the anonymity set?

Unlike mixers with shared anonymity sets, SIP uses per-transaction privacy:

• Each transaction has unique stealth address
• No shared pool to analyze
• Privacy doesn’t depend on other users
• No “taint” from other transactions

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Integration

How do I add SIP to my app?

Install the SDK and wrap your swap logic:

npm install @sip-protocol/sdk

import { SIP, PrivacyLevel } from '@sip-protocol/sdk'

const sip = new SIP({ network: 'mainnet' })

// Create shielded swap
const intent = await sip.createIntent({
  input: { chain: 'ethereum', token: 'ETH', amount: '1.0' },
  output: { chain: 'solana', token: 'SOL' },
  privacy: PrivacyLevel.SHIELDED,
})

// Get quotes and execute
const quotes = await sip.getQuotes(intent)
await sip.execute(intent, quotes[0])

See Quick Start for complete guide.

Does SIP work with my wallet?

SIP provides wallet adapters for:

• Solana: Phantom, Solflare, Backpack
• Ethereum: MetaMask, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet
• Hardware: Ledger, Trezor (via adapters)

import { createSolanaAdapter } from '@sip-protocol/sdk'

const wallet = createSolanaAdapter({ provider: window.solana })
await wallet.connect()

Can I run my own solver?

Yes. SIP is designed to work with the NEAR Intents solver network. See Solver Integration for details.

Is there a testnet?

Yes. Use the SDK with testnet configuration:

const sip = new SIP({
  network: 'testnet',
  nearNetwork: 'testnet',
})

Testnet uses:

• NEAR testnet
• Ethereum Sepolia
• Solana devnet

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Security

Is SIP audited?

Not yet. We are actively preparing for audit:

• Internal review complete
• Comprehensive test coverage
• Threat model documented
• Seeking qualified auditors

See Audit Preparation for details.

What are the security assumptions?

SIP’s security relies on:

1. ECDLP hardness — discrete log problem on secp256k1
2. Hash function security — SHA-256, BLAKE2 collision resistance
3. Encryption security — XChaCha20-Poly1305 (authenticated encryption)
4. NEAR Intents security — settlement layer integrity

See Security Properties for formal analysis.

Is there a bug bounty?

Not yet, but planned post-audit. Security issues can be reported to:

• Email: security@sip-protocol.org
• GitHub: Private vulnerability reporting

What are the known limitations?

Current limitations:

1. Metadata leakage — timing and existence of transactions visible
2. Wallet fingerprinting — wallet software may leak information
3. Bridge trust — cross-chain relies on bridge security
4. Not quantum-resistant — uses classical cryptography

See Known Limitations for details.

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Project

What’s the roadmap?

Phase	Focus	Status
Phase 1	Core SDK, NEAR integration	Complete
Phase 2	Multi-foundation, partnerships	In progress
Phase 3	Proof composition, standards	Planned

See Roadmap for details.

How is SIP funded?

SIP is seeking grants from multiple foundations:

• NEAR Foundation (Intents privacy)
• Zcash Foundation (privacy expertise)
• Mina Foundation (succinct proofs)
• Ethereum Foundation (EVM privacy)

How can I contribute?

• Code: PRs welcome at github.com/sip-protocol
• Docs: Improve documentation
• Testing: Report bugs, edge cases
• Ideas: Open issues for features

Where can I get help?

• Documentation: docs.sip-protocol.org
• GitHub Issues: github.com/sip-protocol/sip-protocol/issues
• Twitter/X: @rz1989sol