SEALED - DECENTRALIZED POST-QUANTUM COMMUNICATION | xGov

SEALED - DECENTRALIZED POST-QUANTUM COMMUNICATION

Amount Requested: 400,000 ALGO
Category: Mass Adoption/Real Utility
Type: Retroactive
Stage: Mainnet
Repository: GitHub
Website: Sealed Website
Download and social media: Linktree

What is Sealed?

Sealed is a decentralized, post-quantum communication infrastructure built on Algorand that enables users to exchange encrypted messages without relying on centralized servers, phone numbers, emails, or traditional identity systems providing real anonymity. By enabling encrypted messaging without centralized servers or user identity requirements, the project demonstrates how Algorand can be used as a foundation for secure, real-world communication infrastructure. We see the real solution for privacy violations in post-quantum encryption that we can develop well on Algorand.

Sealed has been actively building presence within the Web3 ecosystem through participation in industry events, conferences, and direct engagement with the crypto community. The project has been presented and discussed during major blockchain events, where Sealed was introduced to a broader audience of developers, investors, and ecosystem participants, including:

These events allowed the project to validate the concept, gather feedback, and improve the solution. Sealed managed to establish early relationships within the industry and expand the team by blockchain industry experts who are already working on the development of current processes as well as future aspects of the project such as ecosystem growth, monetization, and business flow.

How is it profitable?

Sealed follows a hybrid monetization model combining low-cost usage, subscriptions, and infrastructure-level integration.

At the core, Sealed uses a pay-per-message model, where users can send a limited number of messages for free (sponsored by the protocol), and continue usage beyond that limit at a low fixed cost (approximately $0.003 per message). This creates a scalable revenue stream directly tied to network usage. In addition, Sealed will introduce subscription tiers that provide access to advanced features such as group communication, higher message limits, desktop usage, and premium privacy functionalities. This allows the product to capture value from more active users and professional use cases.

As the protocol evolves, Sealed is designed to expand into an infrastructure layer for third-party integrations, enabling wallets, dApps, and businesses to use Sealed for private communication, notifications, and authentication flows. These integrations can generate additional revenue through API access, enterprise plans, or usage-based pricing. This model ensures that monetization is aligned with real usage while maintaining accessibility for new users through sponsored onboarding.

Technical Scope and development status of the project:

Sealed is live and in active development stage, with a working prototype of the core messaging functionality built on blockchain infrastructure. The application is already available in an early version on Google Play, allowing initial user testing and validation of the core concept, coming to Apple Store soon. The current focus is on transitioning from prototype to a production-ready mainnet version, improving scalability, usability, and security of the protocol.

  1. Core Cryptographic System (Implemented)
    Sealed implements a production-ready end-to-end encryption system designed for decentralized environments:

    • 1.1. Hybrid Key Exchange (Post-Quantum Ready)
      Implemented combination of ML-KEM-512 (NIST-standard post-quantum KEM) and X25519 elliptic curve key exchange
      → ensures both current and future resistance against quantum attacks
    • 1.2. Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS)
      Ephemeral keys are generated per message session
      → past communications remain secure even if long-term keys are compromised
    • 1.3. Message Encryption Pipeline
      Fully implemented pipeline:
      1. Key agreement (hybrid ML-KEM + X25519)
      2. Symmetric encryption of message content
      3. Message padding (fixed-size obfuscation)
      4. Transmission to blockchain layer
    • 1.4. Message Padding Mechanism
      All messages are padded to uniform size (1KB)
      → mitigates size-based metadata analysis attacks

  2. Blockchain Messaging Layer (Implemented)
    Sealed uses blockchain infrastructure as a transport and persistence layer:

    • 2.1. On-Chain Message Broadcasting
      Encrypted payloads are embedded into blockchain transactions (Algorand TestNet)
    • 2.2. Decentralized Message Retrieval
      Clients can independently scan blockchain data via RPC (through privacy relay)
      → no reliance on centralized messaging servers
    • 2.3. Self-Sovereign Identity Registration
      Users register public keys on-chain by signing transactions
      → no email, phone number, or centralized identity required

  3. Device-Side Security Architecture (Implemented)

    • 3.1. Local Key Ownership (Self-Custody)
      Private keys are generated and stored exclusively on user devices
      → no key material is transmitted or stored externally
    • 3.2. Secure Storage Integration
      Platform-native secure storage:
      1. iOS Keychain
      2. Android Keystore
    • 3.3. Local Encrypted Database
      SQLite-based local storage for messages and metadata
      → enables offline access and decryption
    • 3.4. Offline Decryption Capability
      Messages are decrypted locally without network interaction

  4. Privacy Infrastructure Layer (Implemented)

    • 4.1. OHTTP Relay Integration
      All network requests are routed through Oblivious HTTP relay
      → hides client IP from blockchain nodes and indexer services
    • 4.2. Tor Routing Support
      Additional anonymization layer via Tor network
      → protects against network-level tracking
    • 4.3. Alias-Based Communication (Anonymous Channels)
      Users can communicate through alias wallets/channels
      → prevents direct linkage between primary identities

  5. Indexer & Notification System (Implemented – Optional Layer)

    • 5.1. Privacy-Preserving Indexer
      Dedicated indexer processes blockchain events to detect incoming messages
    • 5.2. Push Notification System
      Firebase/APNs integration for real-time notifications
    • 5.3. Limited Trust Model
      Indexer:
      1. cannot decrypt messages
      2. only processes metadata required for notification delivery

  6. Cross-Platform Application Layer (Implemented)

    • 6.1. Flutter-Based Multi-Platform App
      1. iOS (full support)
      2. Android (full support)
      3. Desktop/Web (development-ready)
    • 6.2. Wallet Management System
      1. BIP39 mnemonic generation & recovery
      2. On-chain identity registration
    • 6.3. Messaging Interface
      1. Send / receive encrypted messages
      2. Alias chat support

  7. Testing & Validation (Implemented)

    • 7.1. Unit tests for cryptographic services
    • 7.2. Integration test for real message transmission
    • 7.3. End-to-end flow validation: encryption → blockchain → retrieval → decryption

  8. Security Model (Defined & Implemented)
    Sealed includes a defined threat model covering:

    • 8.1. Protected:
      1. Message content (end-to-end encrypted)
      2. Sender/receiver linkage (via alias system)
      3. IP address (via OHTTP + Tor)
    • 8.2. Partially Mitigated: Timing analysis (reduced via padding and relay routing)
    • 8.3. Assumptions:
      1. User device security
      2. Blockchain integrity (Algorand consensus)
      3. Optional indexer availability

Funding Request
The requested funding reflects the scope and maturity of the Sealed project, which has already moved beyond the concept stage and into a working prototype with a fully implemented core architecture.

This proposal represents the first phase of a broader development roadmap, with future milestones planned based on adoption and ecosystem integration. At this stage, Sealed is not starting from zero - the core cryptographic system, blockchain messaging layer, privacy infrastructure, and application framework have already been developed and validated. The funding is therefore not intended to initiate development but to complete the transition from a functional prototype to a production-ready, scalable communication infrastructure on Algorand.

Overall, this funding enables Sealed to bridge the gap between a working prototype and a fully usable, production-ready system, significantly increasing its potential for adoption and long-term impact within the Algorand ecosystem.

Adoption Metrics

About the team
Igor Makowiecki - CEO - LinkedIn
Dominik Stępień - CTO - LinkedIn
Igor Kamrowski - Product Owner - LinkedIn
Sebastian Seliga - Chief Ecosystem Officer - LinkedIn
Grzegorz Pisula - Head of Marketing - LinkedIn
Grzegorz Pawlica - Head of Design - LinkedIn

Additional Info
Our upcoming deployments:

Discussion
Discussion is ongoing, take part and help shape public sentiment on this proposal.