SIP Protocol primary sources — 2026-05-11

Project status in this pass

• No canonical standalone SIP whitepaper or litepaper surfaced.
• The strongest primary materials were the official docs homepage, the organization/profile README, the core repo README, the architecture doc, the roadmap, and the SDK README.
• SIP is especially useful because its own materials expose both the intended end-state and the incompleteness of the current privacy architecture.

Primary-source snapshots

1) Official framing: privacy middleware, not a new chain

• URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sip-protocol/.github/main/profile/README.md
• Key excerpt:
  • The org README says SIP is “the privacy standard for Web3” and presents it as a stack with a privacy layer on top of a settlement layer such as NEAR Intents and chain signatures.
  • It also explicitly says SIP is an application layer that complements NEAR Intents and Zcash rather than competing with them.

2) Core architectural split

• URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sip-protocol/sip-protocol/main/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
• Key excerpt:
  • The architecture doc splits SIP into SDK, privacy, proof, and adapter layers, then shows those layers connecting applications to external systems like NEAR Intents, Zcash RPC, and wallets.
  • This is the clearest reason to catalog SIP as shielded-intent middleware rather than as a generic privacy app.

3) Main privacy primitives

• URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sip-protocol/sip-protocol/main/README.md
• Key excerpt:
  • The README says SIP uses stealth addresses to hide recipients, Pedersen commitments to hide amounts, zero-knowledge proofs to prove validity, and viewing keys for selective disclosure.
  • It frames the result as solvers being able to fulfill intents without learning who the user is or where funds are ultimately going.

4) Compliance is a concrete disclosure hierarchy, not just a slogan

• URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sip-protocol/sip-protocol/main/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
• Key excerpt:
  • The architecture doc shows a viewing-key hierarchy with external auditors, internal teams, regulatory scopes, time scopes, and purpose scopes.
  • That makes disclosure policy an explicit control surface inside the protocol’s design rather than a generic “enterprise mode” claim.

5) Self-reported incompleteness: current architecture is only partially private

• URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sip-protocol/sip-protocol/main/ROADMAP.md
• Key excerpt:
  • The roadmap says the shipped M17 state is only about “30% private” because the sender remains visible and the claim flow links stealth accounts back to recipients through onchain claim behavior.
  • This is one of the most important findings in the pass because it prevents flattening SIP into a fully solved privacy protocol.

6) Proposed fix: pool-style escrow plus ZK claim proofs

• URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sip-protocol/sip-protocol/main/ROADMAP.md
• Key excerpt:
  • The roadmap proposes a later Pool PDA plus ZK claim-proof design where deposits blend into a common pool and recipients prove claim rights without revealing which deposit they are claiming.
  • This makes SIP a useful bridge-comparison point between stealth-address systems and privacy-pool architectures.

7) Proving-stack choice as a real control surface

• URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sip-protocol/sip-protocol/main/docs/decisions/NOIR-VS-HALO2.md
• Key excerpt:
  • The ADR says SIP chose Noir/Barretenberg over Halo2 mainly for browser-first proof generation, development speed, and easier circuit authoring, while acknowledging Halo2’s battle-tested advantages.
  • That matters because it shows the protocol’s privacy UX depends on proving-stack ergonomics, not just on theoretical cryptography.

8) Middleware reach extends into backend routing

• URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sip-protocol/sip-protocol/main/packages/sdk/README.md
• Key excerpt:
  • The SDK README exposes provider abstractions, wallet adapters, NEAR Intents integration, Zcash services, and multiple privacy backends.
  • This means SIP is not only a cryptographic library; it is also a routing layer that can influence which infrastructure and privacy modes applications actually use.

Working conclusion

SIP Protocol belongs in the active corpus because it makes shielded intents legible as a layered control plane: app-side builders, stealth/meta-address handling, commitment schemes, proof systems, viewing-key disclosure rules, settlement adapters, and claim architecture all matter separately. Its own roadmap caveat about present-day linkability is especially valuable because it distinguishes marketed privacy from actually achieved privacy.