The purpose of Holepunch is to make it easier for developers to use the Hypercore stack to create legitimate P2P apps where users have full control of their data. Hypercore is a P2P data network that is built on signed, append-only logs. These logs function similarly to a blockchain, but do not use a consensus mechanism and do not require that all nodes need to maintain a single global ledger.
After three years of development, Holepunch will be publicly available as an open-source SDK in December 2022.
Keet was developed as a demo app to showcase what is possible with Holepunch. The app is a P2P messaging program that was developed by the Hypercore Protocol’s open-source team in cooperation with Bitfinex and Tether. True P2P communication is possible between users of Keet through video, text, and instant file exchange. USDT and Bitcoin Lightning payments are also planned to be integrated.
The application improves upon what apps like Zoom and WhatsApp provide to users because data is not forwarded to a centralized server. The Hypercore Protocol makes apps like Keet faster, more scalable, and secure because it applies signed, append-only logs hosted by individual users.
While Bitcoin is the perfect case study for censorship resistance against centralized entities, communication platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram are constantly amplifying the narrative that benefits corporate interests and not the users themselves.
The possibilities for P2P email on Holepunch would allow users to communicate freely without the worry of being censored or booted from their accounts. While most services involve using an email, many users never consider the possibility of losing access to their main email account.
As far as Lightning Network integration with Holepunch, Ardoino cleverly stated in a Twitter thread that Holepunch will not be including Lightning on the platform because “It’s not about money… its about sending a message.”
Despite excluding Lightning from Holepunch, apps built on the platform still have the ability to include Lightning if the developers wish to do so.
On August 12th, the Keet Twitter account announced that Lightning will be an available feature for their app within a few weeks.