EFPIX: An Encrypted Flood Protocol for Metadata-Resistant Communication

Abstract

We propose EFPIX, a flood-based relay protocol for encrypted, metadata-resistant, and spam-tolerant communication. By default, messages are end-to-end encrypted, and metadata is hidden from relaying nodes, while proof-of-work, deduplication, and aging deter spam and replay without requiring accounts or trusted authorities. The protocol is topology-agnostic, resilient to infrastructure failures, and requires no central server. It is designed for asynchronous privacy-critical communication, where anonymity and resilience matter more than throughput.