 that enabled users to sign up and login using just their MetaMask wallet - letting users access end-to-end encrypted documents and data on Skiff using an existing keypair (an Ethereum address).

Today, Skiff supports three products: Skiff Mail, Skiff Pages, and Skiff Drive and has grown to support numerous crypto wallets, including Brave Wallet, Phantom, and more.

Today, we’re excited to announce that Skiff is now a Login Partner of Unstoppable Domains where their over 2.5 million registered domains can now easily plug into Skiff to create an email address and identity. What does this mean? New users can sign up for Skiff and use any products in the Skiff ecosystem (Skiff Mail, Pages, or Drive) all using their Unstoppable Domain.

What is an Unstoppable Domain? It is the first functional NFT single sign-on service for Ethereum and Polygon and will replace the need for usernames and passwords across Web3. Just like connecting a wallet, users prove ownership over an Unstoppable Domain and are subsequently able to use that domain to log into Skiff, send mail, and collaborate with others.

We are excited for all owners of Unstoppable Domains to try out the new login functionality and can't wait to share all the new updates we have coming soon!

Skiff is excited to announce our integration between Unstoppable Domains and Skiff Mail. Earlier this month, Skiff announced a new way to sign up for a Skiff account using your Unstoppable Domain.

Right now, creating a Skiff account means choosing a new email address (@skiff.com), signing up with a wallet with your public wallet address as your username, or logging in with your Unstoppable Domains account.

We’re now taking it one step further and enabling Unstoppable owners to use @ud.me inside of Skiff Mail.

What does this mean? It means that Unstoppable owners get access to a free end-to-end encrypted email that protects their inbox and gives them the power to communicate freely. In the digital era, we keep our lives in our inboxes. Skiff Mail’s end-to-end encryption keeps your mail private and secure. No one — not big tech, not us, not anyone — has access but you.

With 2.5 million registered domains in the Unstoppable ecosystem, Skiff Mail becomes the simplest and most private solution for UD users to communicate, enabling a communication layer in Web3 that was impossible - until now.

For Unstoppable owners who are new to the Skiff ecosystem, 

If you already have a Skiff account, you can still connect your Unstoppable Domain in the settings page of your Skiff Mail inbox.

Communicate and collaborate. All in one place.

In addition to an email address, Skiff Mail account gives you access to the first-ever end-to-end encrypted productivity suite. Jump from docs to email, to remote collaboration. And never compromise your privacy in the process.

An Unstoppable Email

Every week, a new and exciting technological advancement happens in the world. In the last two years, many of these changes involve privacy, data ownership, decentralization - all frequently referred to under umbrella term of “Web3.” But, what exactly is Web3, and are there any real use cases for it today? How can internet users - who primarily rely on the web to communicate, collaborate, and work together - leverage the technological developments wrapped up inside Web3?

Communication, in particular email and messaging, benefits significantly from Web3’s promises of greater decentralized, data ownership, and anonymity. As these products are used every day by billions of people around the world, we are seeing an incredible transformation of consumer technology to be rewritten from the ground up to be private and secure.

This guide provides a comprehensive product and technical overview covering the basics of Web3 communications, and particularly what Web3 email is. We’ll cover:

How can we apply Web3 in the context of email

How online communication and messaging has evolved to become secure and private

The key components needed for successful Web3 email product

If you are ready to explore the intersections of Web3, product, and privacy, you are in the right place!

This section begins with an overview of Web1 and Web2 basics before analyzing the ideological and technical beginnings of Web3.

Web1 was the first stage of the internet. 

 that users could read but provided little other value. Unlike the internet we know today, Web1 lacked interactions, had no like buttons, no comment sections, and no instant group chats and GIFs to share. In the web’s beginnings, an author would write content, post it on the internet, and other individuals around the world could access that website and content.

Web2 changed online content to become dynamic

. Now, users could upload easily upload content to other websites (think writing a post on a social media site, storing a photo on Dropbox or a drive product, or sharing a video on YouTube or Vimeo), comment on other posts, and see new information based on their inputs. Now, users could interact more freely and dynamically - such as searching through dynamic content on websites (like topic on YouTube or articles on Wikipedia). Web2 changed the way we interact with the internet and constitutes the 

Web3 is the newest generation of the internet. While in Web2 all information was stored in centralized databases, often owned by big tech companies like Amazon and Google, Web3 leverages increasingly decentralized architectures to ensure that no one entity has complete control over the information. A lot of the technical infrastructure may be shared across Web2 and Web3, such as servers, web browsers, and programming languages (HTML/JavaScript).

Web3’s ideological roots began with general user frustration around censorship and governance in Web2 companies. For example, social media companies limiting content on their platforms, or internet providers deplatforming individuals and groups. In Web2, whoever owns the servers can ultimately decide an individual user’s fate; 

in Web3 no one group or organization has that level of control

How online communication/messaging has evolved

Today, online communication is generally done through two formats: Email and instant messaging. While messaging is generally perceived to be synchronous (done at the same time with counterparties), email is asynchronous, where conversations may span multiple days or weeks across different groups.

 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Almost a decade later, computer scientists proposed the first standardization of email’s protocols in 1973 and later finalized the proposal finalized in 1977. This standardization included things such as to and from fields, as well as the ability to forward emails to other recipients. Fast forward to today: Email is as ubiquitous as ever, with almost every device interconnected using some form of email’s protocols or formats.

Instant messaging shares some similarities with email but maintains some key differences. Firstly, instant messaging is designed to mimic a face-to-face conversation (synchronous), while email is meant to mimic asynchronous communication more in the character of an old-school letter. In fact, many of the terminology and symbology, such as inboxes, are derived from postal analogies.

The other main difference is there is no single standard for instant messaging. Apple’s iMessage protocols - 

, which yields its own set of security properties beyond E2EE. Almost every social platform, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, maintain their own messaging products and standards.

While you can almost never send an instant message from one instant message provider to another (such as sending an iMessage to a Whataspp contact), you can send an email to any other person who has an email address, regardless of which email service they use.

Initially, both email and instant messaging were designed to efficiently send information across the internet from one device to another. However, over the years both end-users and developers became more and more concerned over the privacy and security of the users on these platforms, as well as the content they were sending on email and through instant messaging.

A major breakthrough in ensuring users messages were kept private and safe from prying eyes was the adoption of 

 (E2EE). End-to-end encryption is an encryption protocol 

that prevents third parties from gaining access to the transmitted data.

 In an E2EE protocol, data is encrypted on the sender’s device and transmitted in encrypted form over a network to the recipient’s device. The data can only be decrypted on the recipient’s device - so, even if some malicious actor acquired the encrypted data while it was being transmitted, they would have no way of decrypting the message and accessing its contents. Today, many of the most popular messaging apps use E2EE, including Signal, WhatsApp, iMessage, and Android messenger and Telegram (when enabled).

There are many different closed and open source protocols that can be used to implement end-to-end encryption in online messaging and communication. One of the most famous and highly regarded is the 

. The Signal Protocol is an open source E2EE protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems in 2013. Today, numerous messaging apps, including Signal, Whatsapp, and even Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service Skype either completely rely on the Signal Protocol for E2EE or give users the option to use the encryption protocol when communicating with others.

All of these changes to online communication yield the end goal of providing the user with a simple, intuitive user experience while protecting the integrity and privacy of all messages and personal information shared on a communication platform.

Today, Telegram and Discord are the two most popular forms of communication in Web3 communities and products. 

 is a freemium instant messaging service with over 700 million monthly active users distributed across the world.

 is another instant messaging service that was originally built for the gaming community. However, as online communities exploded in recent years, Discord has been quite widely adopted by groups ranging from hiking clubs to hackathons. At the moment, most Web3 communities use a combination of Telegram or Discord to collaborate, share information, and discuss new projects with other members of their chosen communities. Both products’ low friction to join and ease of use have made them global favorites.

While Telegram does give its users the option to use end-to-end encryption, Discord does not, yielding a more community but not privacy focused experience. Both Telegram and Discord are generally quite centralized, in the character that data and information is stored in servers run by each company.

It may appear strange that communities who value privacy, anonymity, and decentralization choose to use centralized platforms for internal collaboration. The reason, however, is that competing decentralized services are either nonexistent or lack the rich features and user experience to compete with existing alternatives. This is changing however with companies like 

 developing privacy-first communication methods that are quickly gaining popularity and features.

If you’re reading this piece, you probably have at least one email address - in fact, the average internet user has 

. You may, however, be curious about how how the new developments in Web3 can be applied to email and yield an improved user experience as well as new features.

In Web3, cryptography represents the root of individuals’ identity - a public key, an address on a blockchain, or a key fingerprint used for encrypted communciations. Unlike Web2 platforms and identities, a public private keypair allows an individual to share their identity across multiple platforms and never share the corresponding private key. For communities, this property allows an individual using a Web3 email or communication product to submit transactions on the blockchain, participate in DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations, and own digital assets all with the same cryptographic identity. When using a public key for identity, services must also provide the utmost privacy and security, including end-to-end encryption.

The key components needed for the future of email

The three key components needed for a true Web3 email product are: Privacy, decentralized identity, and censorship resistant storage. These properties yield significant improvements in protecting your personal information and ensuring that you own your own data.

The first component is a high level of privacy and security. Users must have confidence that their data is not being used, shared, or monetized by providers. This includes end-to-end encrypted, transparency - such as open-sourcing, and other good practices, such as regular security audits. It is also critical for companies to have 

, terms of service, and development practices.

The second component is decentralized identity. This ensures that even if the company closes its doors, users will have access to their public/private keypair and proof that they can own their identity across platforms.

The last component is a mechanism for censorship resistant storage. In particular, this could be using a 

, or by allowing users to encrypt and backup their storage on 

. Thus, it is important that any Web3 email provider have the ability to link to users cryptographic, user-owned identities. These identities often take the form of crypto wallets (like 

), that also allow submitting transactions, owning digital assets, and voting or contributing to DAOs.

Web3 technologies across identity and storage have transformed the way products are built and released. Today, users have more options and ability to control their data than ever before.

Skiff gives users the option to store all their data in a fully decentralized manner by making use of the InterPlanetaryFIleSystem (IPFS) developed by Protocol Labs.

Skiff is also fully end-to-end encrypted meaning that users data is encrypted on their device and can never be intercepted and decrypted by any third party while it is transferring over a network.

Skiff also gives users complete control over their data by allowing them to connect and link their chosen Web3 identity wallet to their Skiff account. At the moment Skiff supports MetaMask, 

Skiff also gives users access to a whole suite of privacy-first products, including real-time colloboration on 

 as well as file sharing and storage with 

. Skiff is dedicated to becoming the all-in-one, privacy-first, and Web3 collaboration platform of the future.

Web3 email and messaging

One of the most substantial innovations in the blockchain and crypto spaces over the last few years has been the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency wallets. Wallets such as 

 have been downloaded, purchased, or used by tens of millions of users around the world. Wallets are the most basic form of crypto identity - safeguarding the private keys needed to transact, own tokens, and sign attestations

There are many advantages and benefits to using different kinds of crypto wallets, including custodial, non-custodial, and hardware wallets - some of which we will discuss in this piece - but something that has not been possible until very recently has been the ability to send messages directly between crypto wallets. New players in the Web3 field, such as 

 have been busy building the Web3 communication protocols and platforms for the future of communications.

In this piece we will cover how you can message a crypto wallet directly, either from your own crypto wallet, or in some cases, using a standard email address.

Before we get into how you can easily and securely message any crypto wallet with only a wallet address, we’ll first cover what a cryptocurrency wallet is and a few tips on how they work.

A cryptocurrency wallet is any device, hardware, software, or service that stores cryptocurrency private keys. 

 the most basic form of crypto identity associated with any wallet address on any chain. As a result, you will always have an associated private key with all wallets you use for every cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana. Private keys are one 

part of an asymmetric cryptographic keypair

; all private keys are derived from the particular 

 used on a given chain. For example, ETH keypairs use the 

. There are many different types of wallets, but the most common form are software wallets which exist as extensions on your web browser (such as 

Each wallet will also have an associated public key. You can think of your wallet’s public key as the public address of your wallet; unlike private keys, which are needed to generate signatures or prove ownership over a token, a public key can be widely shared. Depending on the blockchain in question, your address may be some transformation of your public key, such as a hash or a certain subset of characters.

If anyone wants to send cryptocurrency or an NFT to your wallet, they will 

 need to know your public key. Your private key, on the other hand, should never be shared with anyone. If your public key is like your public address, your private key is like the password to your bank account. Hackers and malicious actors are always trying to steal users private keys and drain crypto wallets, so be sure to never divulge your private key to anyone.

You might be wondering how users can be sure they are transacting with the real owner of a wallet. This is done by 

, Signing a message with a crypto wallet is a way to prove that you own the wallet and that you approve of the message. This can be used to sign transactions, to prove ownership of a wallet, or to sign a message from another person. To sign messages, you will need to use the private key associated with your wallet - another reason to be extremely guarded whenever using your wallet and private key. This signature will prove that you are the owner of the wallet and that you approve of the message.

While it is fairly straightforward for even new crypto users to sign and complete transactions using a browser based crypto wallet, there were previously no robust systems for communicating directly between crypto wallets. Users have had to rely on Web2 methods of communication, such as using text messages, phone numbers, messaging apps, or Discord to communicate between owners of crypto wallets. These platforms have been 

large sources of fraud, scams, malware, and spyware

Recently, however, newcomers to the wallet messaging space have released protocols and products to allow for private and direct communication between crypto wallets. So, whether you are doing a bitcoin transaction, or participating in any other form of smart contract, consider using one of these tools to help you communicate effortlessly with other crypto wallet owners.

 is an all-in-one Web3-native and privacy-first suite for communication and collaboration. Skiff Mail allows for end-to-end encrypted email, similar to other private email providers, as well as linking crypto wallets to an email account for seamless, private, wallet communication. This allows users to not only receive emails directly to their wallet address (which would be [wallet-address]@skiff.com), but also to send and receive emails to any standard email provider, such as Gmail or Outlook.

Skiff Mail currently supports connecting MetaMask Ethereum wallets, Coinbase Wallet, Brave Wallet, 

Skiff’s products are not limited to crypto wallet messaging. Skiff also offers fully decentralized private document collaboration and file storage. The decentralization is accomplished by 

leveraging the InterPlanetary File System

 (IPFS) network created by Protocol Labs.

 is another end-to-end encrypted and decentralized messaging tool. Unlike Skiff, which uses some of the customs and protocols from email for crypto wallet communication, dm3 acts more like an instant messaging service between users who have a MetaMask wallet and an 

dm3 also allows user to freely store messages in a variety of different ways, including locally on their browser, a local file, on IPFS, or on any other personal cloud storage provider.

dm3 is a great web3 messaging service if you prefer instant messaging style messages over email and you only need to communicate with other users who have an ENS domain and MetaMask wallet.

XMTP is a Web3 communication protocol built by 

. Unlike Skiff and dm3, XMTP is a protocol which other services and tools can implement to allow for wallet to wallet communication. The protocol is designed to be fully decentralized and aims to use cryptography and economic disincentives built into the protocol to reduce spam, scams, theft, and fraud.

XMTP is only available through an early access program at the moment but is a great choice for those who want to implement their own Web3 communication capabilities within their services without building out the infrastructure from scratch themselves. If you are a developer looking to build products in Web3 communication, we encourage checking out XMTP as well.

Communicating directly with a crypto wallet yields numerous benefits, including for trustworthy communications, facilitating transactions, and providing key anonymity benefits.

: On wallet-integrated communication platforms, such as Skiff, using a wallet can facilitate more trustworthy communications, either signed by your wallet or on a platform that requires wallet attestations.

: On DeFi platforms or crypto marketplaces, using a wallet for communication can help facilitate transactions or buyer/seller negotiations. For example, using 

, you could send and receive information about selling your ENS name on a single communication platform.

: A wallet is simply a private key. So, if you generate a new crypto wallet, you could easily create an email address for 

anonymous, secure, and private communications

The ability to communicate directly between crypto wallets solves a huge pain point for crypto consumers and users who often still find themselves in situations where there is no easy way to send a message to a counter-party in a transaction. Crypto wallet communication is in its early days but some players, like those above, are already offering users great utility and value which will no doubt will only improve with time.

How can you message a crypto wallet?

Our email addresses are our first lines of contact - added to business cards, shared publicly across the internet, and relied upon to store years of important messages and attachments. However, as private messaging (

, and more) grows increasingly popular and the security landscape changes, email is undergoing major technical and product shifts that could benefit from Web3 and crypto wallets.

This blog provides an overview of the many benefits that using a crypto wallet to log into your email provider, or as an email address itself, can provide. In particular, wallets yield excellent benefits for privacy, identity portability, and encryption - which are all must-haves for modern digital communications.

At the most basic level, a crypto wallet is simply a public private key pair, where your address, such as your Ethereum address, is derived from the cryptographic public key. In the case of an Ethereum address, the public and private key are 

 on the SECP256K1 curve. An Ethereum address is deterministically dervied from the public key using a hashing algorithm and omitting certain bytes. As a result, crypto wallets are simply derived from mathematical functions - providing complete privacy and a basic layer for identification (using public addresses), attestation (digital signatures), and encryption (using asymmetric cryptography).

So, in using a crypto wallet for your communications - such as as an email address - takes you close to the mathematical foundations of cryptography and can yield complete privacy. A wallet you generate can remain completely anonymous and never be shared.

Today, many email services offer anonymous aliases as a benefit that all forward back to your same inbox. This includes the 

, and more. A crypto wallet can provide many of the same benefits – a completely anonymous, mathematically derived identity that can be used to securely and privately send receive communications, own digital assets, and make attestations proving your identity.

Crypto wallets have become one of the most portable identity forms around the web. Wallets, which live inside 

, mobile apps, and soon operating systems, can be used for sending payments, owning digital assets, and sending secure communications. However, because they are simply a cryptographic public private keypair, they are completely portable and can be moved from one wallet app – like MetaMask to another wallet app – like Rainbow Wallet.

Wallets can be used across multiple devices, like mobile browsers, and easily 

. Furthermore as we discussed in the Skiff blog on 

using the Ethereum naming service with Skiff Mail

, a crypto wallet may be associated with a more personal form of identity, like an ENS name, a Twitter account (in the 

Unlike Web2 identity, where a single entity or organization controls your entire account, wallets enable owning and not renting identity, even if you want to transfer it across platforms.

Because crypto wallets are simply public private keypairs, they provide a strong basis for an asymmetric crypto system that can be used for encryption and decryption - a necessity for private messaging. In the last year, MetaMask and Brave Wallet released functionality to perform encryption and decryption using an Ethereum wallet (read more in 

encryption and decryption functionality as well

Compared to PGP, which requires a user to safeguard their private key, share this key across various web services, and use a trustworthy verification method to prove they actually represent a given public key, wallets (particluarly when 

) may be significantly easier to use and safer for consumers.

Crypto wallets have now given hundreds of millions of people access to public private keypairs inside of their browsers, mobile apps, and devices. Unlike past attempts to make encryption widespread, such as with Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), wallets have a multitude of use cases and rely on user friendly interfaces.

Because wallets hold public private keypairs, they are also portable across different apps or devices - and are not owned or rented from a corporate entity. Given these advantages, we at Skiff encourage 

 using a crypto wallet to gain access to end-to-end encrypted, privacy-first email, collaboration, file sharing, and more.

Why you should use crypto wallets for your emails

Have you already upgraded to the Pro or Business plan and need some quick tips on setting up a custom email domain? You’ve come to the right place.

This blog covers how to connect your domain name to your account, add aliases for you and your colleagues, and create a business email or personal address with your own, custom domain name.

First, visit the Mail custom domains settings page: Click settings, then click “Custom domains.” On mobile, click the gear icon in the top right, and then “Setup domain” (yes, you can configure custom domains from mobile as well).

Then, click “add domain,” and type in your domain name. Click “next,” and wait for the loading spinner to finish loading.

Now, you’ll be on a screen with a list of DNS records for your domain, including an MX record, two TXT records, and two CNAME records. You’ll need to add all of these records to your domain from your hosting provider.

Once you’ve navigated to your hosting provider or domain registrar, add each record for your domain. Note that 

you must have the Skiff MX record at priority zero

, and the other records must be copied in perfectly for your domain to verify properly.

After copying in all of the records, that’s it! Wait approximately five to ten minutes for your records to publish, then for Skiff to verify them.

You’ve verified your custom domain. What’s next?

You can now add any number of aliases for that domain from the custom domains settings page. First, click “add alias” next to your domain. Then, in the popup, type in your desired alias, which can even be 

! From there, you’ll want to type in an alias, and then click “add.” You’ll see the alias show up below your custom domain.

From there, you can now send and receive mail using this alias on your custom domain!

Now, what if you want to add multiple users with aliases for your custom domain? This is a common case for business email addresses.

First, add people to your workspace from your Skiff Pages or Drive dashboard (

). Click settings, then your workspace name, and “add members.” Or, share your “Everyone” team. New users will need a new account to join your workspace.

From there, all users added to your workspace will be able to add aliases on any custom domains you’ve verified for that workspace. Once you’ve added users to your workspace, Skiff can become a great email provider for businesses, teams, families, and other organizations that seek to have email accounts for team members with a shared domain name. Startups can also leverage our 

 program, which provides up to $1,000 of credit for your organization to join on the Pro or Business plans.

. We’re also available at support@skiff.org.

Quick guide: Get your custom domain set up

Today, we are giving users with Keplr wallets the ability to not only directly sign up for Skiff’s suite of privacy-first decentralized products, but also to claim their very own @keplr.xyz domain address to use within Skiff Mail and with the world.

Skiff is dedicated to making privacy-first and decentralized products more accessible and user-friendly. This is why Skiff has built a comprehensive privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted, and Web3-native decentralized platform.

 empowers users to communicate privately and confidently by connecting and linking their crypto wallets to an encrypted, secure, and private email address, allowing for the most comprehensive and efficient wallet to wallet communication available.

 lets users write and store sensitive information that can be easily shared with collaborators, without ever breaking client-side encryption. Users also have the option to store their pages on the InterPlanetary File System for a completely decentralized experience.

 enables users to store all their files, regardless of file type, on a privacy first, end-to-end encrypted platform. These files can be easily accessed, downloaded and, retrieved. All your files are encrypted on your device, and, if you choose stored on a decentralized network (IPFS), files remain end-to-end encrypted and censorship resistant.

Keplr is the first open-source, IBC-enabled wallet that was built from the ground up to support interoperability and the Interchain ecosystem.

Explore the world of interoperable blockchain applications from one wallet, and manage assets, stake tokens and collect rewards, participate in governance, access NFTs, and more.

Combining powerful features into one user-friendly interface, Keplr simplifies connecting blockchain applications for developers and empowers users to interact with the emerging ecosystem of interoperable blockchains.

 installed before displaying the Log in with Keplr button. If you don’t, you’ll still be able to log in with your username and password or any of our other wallet-based logins.

The next step is to verify that you actually own your Cosmos Hub address (we don’t want you to have any imposters!). Similar to 

, our server first generates a challenge token (called skiffLoginToken ) for your wallet to sign.

Then, we use the Keplr API to sign the message using the 

 protocol. This signature is subsequently verified in order to claim the @keplr.xyz address, and if it passes we can safely assume that this is not an impersonation. We let you proceed to either creating a new account or logging into an existing one, depending on whether you’ve signed up.

 for you to use with your address and wallet. New custom domain, same end-to-end encryption.

In building a platform for privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted, Web3 email, adding a distinct, verifiable address for every Keplr user builds credibility and trust for all communications in Web3.

Both Skiff and Keplr are incredibly excited about the limitless potential of decentralization and the innovative technologies being developed in the field. Skiff is dedicated to giving Keplr wallet users the best experience possible with our current offerings - and won’t be stopping here. We have lots of new features, products, and improvements coming very soon, and we can’t wait to share them with the entire Keplr community. Keep your eyes posted on your @keplr.xyz address for some exciting announcements in the coming weeks and months.

Skiff x Keplr

Skiff is thrilled to announce the release of a new option to log into Skiff with Brave Wallet. Over 55 million individuals browse the internet using Brave as their primary browser every month. Skiff is excited to partner-up with Brave to give as many people as possible seamless and secure access to Skiff Mail and Pages.

This integration is technically groundbreaking and provides all Brave users access to privacy-respecting, end-to-end encrypted collaboration. Internally, Skiff already functions a lot like a crypto wallet - safeguarding key pairs and other sensitive information for your documents, identity, and team. We’ve written about this in past blogs on collaboration and in our technical whitepaper. Using Brave Wallet’s ability to encrypt and decrypt data, Skiff is able to create an account and end-to-end encrypt documents and email using the wallet.

If you are on the Brave Browser, you’ll now see an option to “Login via Brave Wallet” on the 

Once you click “Login via Brave Wallet” you’ll immediately be prompted to sign a login token - an attestation that you own your Ethereum wallet:

As the final step, you’ll then be asked for your encryption public key, which is used to secure your Skiff login token and password. From there, the normal Skiff login process begins - choosing a theme (light or dark mode), setting a display name, enabling account recovery and finally setting up your new Skiff Mail email alias.

That’s it! You’ll then have access to writing, collaboration, and sharing — all with your Brave Wallet address.

Skiff x Brave

Skiff is thrilled to announce the release

 of a new option to log into Skiff with a MetaMask wallet. Tens of millions of individuals already browse the internet with an Ethereum address as a primary form of identity. Now, Skiff has joined the ecosystem of forward-looking services that offer them seamless access.

This integration is technically groundbreaking (see more below) and provides all Ethereum wallet-holders access to privacy-respecting, end-to-end encrypted, and decentralized collaboration. Internally, Skiff already functions a lot like a crypto wallet - safeguarding keypairs and other sensitive information for your documents, identity, and team. We’ve written about this in past blogs on 

. Using similar functionality in the MetaMask wallet (such as eth_decrypt), we’re able to automatically create a Skiff account directly from a user’s wallet.

, you’ll now see an option to “Login via MetaMask” on the 

 login page. If you don’t have the MetaMask extension, this button remains invisible.

Once you click “login via MetaMask,” you’ll immediately be prompted to sign a login token - an attestation that you own your Ethereum wallet. You will first have to authenticate with your MetaMask wallet using a password. 

As the final step, you’ll then be asked for your encryption public key, which is used to secure your Skiff login token and password. From there, the normal Skiff login process begins - choosing a theme (light or dark mode), setting a display name, and enabling account recovery. For your collaborators’ sake, we highly encourage setting up a display name!

That’s it! You’ll then have access to writing, collaboration, and sharing — all with your Ethereum wallet address.

Now that we’ve covered the wallet-based login process, let’s dive into how it works behind the scenes!

First off, if you have the Metamask extension installed, you will see the option to log in with your wallet. If you don’t, you’ll see the familiar email-password login.

When you connect to Skiff with a new Ethereum wallet, the first thing we ask you to do is to verify that it’s actually you. To do this, we generate a challenge message with your wallet address and a random string for you to 

. We call this challenge message skiffLoginToken, which you can see in the Metamask prompt. This 

 attacks and other impersonation strategies that could compromise your information’s security.

After verifying that this digital signature is valid, we can rest assured that you’re not being impersonated. At this point, Skiff’s 

 relies on private / public keypairs that are subsequently encrypted with your password, which is never stored or sent over any network. But since the whole point of logging in with our wallet was to eliminate site-specific passwords, we won’t ask you to create and remember a password. Instead, we randomly generate a password, ask you to 

, and then store the encrypted result (which can be decrypted with your MetaMask wallet) for future reference. Your unencrypted password 

 leaves your browser (so we can’t ever see it!) and only you hold the keys to unlock your encrypted password.

That’s it! Using only your Metamask wallet, you’re securely logged in and ready to start securely collaborating on Skiff!

When logging in with an Ethereum wallet that you’ve used before, the process looks a little different. To start, we will still ask you to verify your identity with the same challenge-response authentication. Next, you’ll retrieve your password so you can generate your private and public keys for accessing all your end-to-end encrypted data on Skiff. We query your encrypted password in our database and then 

. As with Skiff’s email-password login process, your plaintext password never leaves the browser, ensuring that everything you do on Skiff remains truly private.

The email address has been the internet’s default login credential for so long that it’s easy to lose sight of alternative (and often superior) approaches. With the emergence of Web3 and the continued decentralization of the internet, new forms of identity — such as an Ethereum wallet address or a unique encryption keypair — are already proving their advantages to both user autonomy and privacy.

Metamask logins are only a first step. Skiff is already developing new features to ensure that private, decentralized collaboration remains seamlessly accessible to as many people as possible, regardless of how they choose to access it.

Skiff x Unstoppable Domains

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