Decentralized Chat
VeradiVerdict - Issue #219
Comm is a crypto-native chat protocol aiming to replace centralized platforms like Discord.
Comm: the web3 chat platform
Comm is working on addressing fragmentation in one of the biggest areas of crypto: collaboration. Because web3 communities are often dispersed across various locations and don’t interact in person, social technology is crucial to bring individuals in web3 together. In crypto, these communication platforms are used for ideating, fostering community, governance, and generally pushing a project forward.
Discord, though commonly used by crypto-natives, can be incredibly noisy and difficult to navigate for both new and existing users. Existing users are often spammed by bots and are members of many different servers, so it’s easy to let messages slip. New users simply don’t know how to navigate Discord’s non-intuitive and busy UI. Despite this, Discord is still hugely popular among top crypto projects, partly because a good (and less centralized) alternative hasn’t been introduced.
Comm has a mixture of Discord and Slack features and plans to target these web3-native communities. The app streamlines the messaging experience and eliminates noise while maintaining a strong community aspect. Check out Comm’s design prototype here.
Comm’s platform is designed to reduce noise. Source: Comm
Architecture: a user-controlled experience
Right now, end-to-end (E2E) encryption is mostly used just for basic chat apps (e.g. Signal) because it’s not possible to implement a server layer on a cell phone. Comm’s keyserver architecture helps to solve this E2E encryption scaling problem. The company writes software for keyservers (user-operated backends that are allowed to have plaintext access) and operates some cloud services that provide a framework for keyservers to run and communicate. Since users operate their own keyservers, they can better control their data and digital identity. The company will initially allow individuals to deploy keyservers in the cloud or on a laptop – though it’s currently optional and only needed for hosting communities on the app. In the future, Comm plans to expand to offering dedicated hardware to users to deploy keyservers for a more user-controlled experience.
So why do keyservers matter – and why this architecture vs the design used by chat apps today? Keyservers can do a few things differently than current common methods:
They can back up data automatically – and preserve the encryption of that data while doing it
There’s more flexibility with handling forward secrecy than traditional iOS apps
Keyservers can process ranking content on a continuous basis and in a stronger way than cell phones
Because keyservers have plaintext access, search can be implemented in a traditional way without leaking data to app developers or service providers
The obvious drawback is that Comm can’t currently operate on a cell phone – but the security and autonomy the platform provides in exchange is enormous. Comm’s keyserver design enables autonomy in a unique way – users can install local apps while knowing that the data stored there won’t escape its hosting environment. The sandbox that the data operates in includes both you and your Comm friends’ devices and keyservers, and data is never exploited in the way many web2 corporations handle user information. Users can verify this via Comm’s open-sourced technical docs.
Users log into Comm with their wallet. Source: Comm
Comm’s chat interface is organized into focused messages and background messages so the user can quickly check important notifications. The user’s profile is also displayed, which shows the tokens and NFTs they own and their public address. The apps section features helpful tools like file sharing, calendar, governance platforms, and community NFT wallets.
Source: Comm
Team: engineering focused self-starters
Comm’s founder, Ashoat Tevosyan, is an engineer who previously dropped out of school to work at Facebook at age 20, first on the search team and most recently leading the public conversations team. While at Facebook, he navigated network effects of social apps and learned the intricacies of how a traditional web2 company handles data. Impressively, he founded Comm alone – you can learn more about his research and passions here. The full team is now spread across NYC and Poland and has fifteen members (including nine engineers). Details on each team member can be found here.
Product expansion + goals
Comm believes that the keyserver, because of the user autonomy and privacy it enables, will replace centralized services like Dropbox, Gmail, Facebook, and more. Apps developed on top of keyservers let users directly control their data instead of surrendering it to data-farming corporations that have such a strong grip on society today. Currently, users can interact with apps to perform actions on their behalf via a securely stored password. The broader vision is for users to be able to eventually sign in for services directly with their Comm account.
As web3 communities grow, the demand for a less centralized, encrypted, and intuitive communication platform will as well. We believe Comm is perfectly suited to build this much-needed infrastructure in crypto communication and disrupt incumbent centralized players.
- Paul Veradittakit
DISCLAIMER
Pantera Capital Puerto Rico Management, LP and its affiliates (“Pantera”) makes investments in crypto assets and in blockchain-related companies. Pantera and/or its affiliates or personnel may be an investor in, or have relationships or other business arrangements related to, certain instruments, companies and/or projects discussed herein. This document does not contain any advertisement for Pantera’s investment advisory services, or any other services or products, whether provided by Pantera or otherwise. The information and opinions presented in this document are solely those of Paul Veradittakit; they do not represent, and should not be interpreted as representative of, the views of Pantera or any other individual working for Pantera, and do not represent investment, legal, tax, financial, or any other form of, advice or recommendations. Neither Pantera nor Mr. Veradittakit is acting, or purports to act, as an investment adviser or in a fiduciary capacity with respect to any recipient of this paper. Information contained in this document is believed to be reliable, but no representation is made regarding such information’s fairness, correctness, accuracy, reasonableness or completeness. There is no obligation to update this document or to otherwise notify a reader if any matter stated statement or information contained here changes or subsequently is shown to be inaccurate. Nothing contained herein constitutes any representation or warranty as to future performance of any financial instrument or company. Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon, and performance or outcomes may differ materially from what is contemplated herein. Opinions included here incorporate subjective judgments or may be based on incomplete information. This document does not constitute or contain an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities or a recommendation to enter into any transaction, and no reliance should be placed on this document in making investment decisions.
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ABOUT ME
Hi, I’m Paul Veradittakit, a Partner at Pantera Capital, one of the oldest and largest institutional investors focused on investing in blockchain companies and cryptocurrencies. I’ve been in the industry since 2014, and the firm invests in equity, early stage token projects, and liquid cryptocurrencies on exchanges. I focus on early-stage investments and share my thoughts on what’s going on in the industry in this weekly newsletter.
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