Devcon 8 · Mumbai · November 3–6, 2026
// research call for participation
Mumbai · October 31 – November 8, 2026
Resilient Networking
Research Track
Help define the future of resilient, decentralized, and agent-native networking.
The Resilient Networking Research Track invites researchers, protocol engineers, open-source maintainers, and independent builders to explore the fundamental challenges shaping the next generation of peer-to-peer infrastructure.
Submission deadline
October 30, 2026 · 11:59 PM PST
Research paper + PoC · Pacific Standard Time (PST)
// our long-term vision
libp2p 2035: Modular, Trust-Aware, Partition-Tolerant, Agent-Native Networking.
From architectural identity and next-generation discovery to agentic trust, partition tolerance, and trustless coordination, we are looking for original research that advances the foundations of resilient networking.
// research board
Eight tracks. Open questions. Original research.
8 of 8 tracks
TRACK 01
Architectural Identity
What is libp2p’s irreducible abstraction?
Research direction
Investigate core networking primitives, abstraction boundaries, and the trade-offs between libp2p’s modular architecture and independently composed stacks such as QUIC + TLS + DHT + Gossip.
Prepare your research submissionTRACK 02
Beyond DHTs
What replaces Kademlia in high-churn, intent-aware networks?
Research direction
Explore hypergraph overlays, capability-based routing, and reinforcement-learning-driven peer selection.
Prepare your research submissionTRACK 03
Post-Gossip Broadcast
How should next-generation decentralized broadcast work?
Research direction
Research erasure-coded dissemination, DAG-based propagation, and structured relay trees.
Prepare your research submissionTRACK 04
Agentic Trust Structures
How do autonomous nodes establish verifiable trust?
Research direction
Explore zero-knowledge reputation, delegated trust chains, and webs of capabilities.
Prepare your research submissionTRACK 05
Partition Tolerance
How can networks remain resilient under severe disruption?
Research direction
Design overlays that withstand country-scale censorship, disaster-induced partitions, and high-latency environments.
Prepare your research submissionTRACK 06
Trustless Coordination
How can distributed systems coordinate without global consensus?
Research direction
Investigate local quorum systems, partial consensus graphs, and optimistic concurrency.
Prepare your research submissionTRACK 07
Unified Architecture
How do these research directions fit together?
Research direction
Synthesize the findings into a cohesive architecture for libp2p 2035: Modular, Trust-Aware, Partition-Tolerant, Agent-Native Networking.
Prepare your research submissionTRACK 08
Open Research: Submit a PoC + Long Paper
Have a research idea beyond these seven areas?
Research direction
We welcome original proposals that advance decentralized networking, including work spanning decentralized media, distributed storage, Ethereum infrastructure, and autonomous agent systems.
Prepare your research submission// submit your research
Turn your question into a paper and PoC.
We invite individuals and collaborative teams to submit:
Research proposal
A clearly defined problem, research question, and expected contribution.
Proof of concept (PoC)
A prototype, implementation, simulation, or reproducible experiment.
Long-form technical paper
Covering motivation, related work, methodology, architecture, evaluation, findings, limitations, and future directions.
Supporting materials
An open-source repository, benchmarks, tests, and documentation, where applicable.
Cross-track research is encouraged. We value original ideas, technical depth, reproducible results, and contributions that can evolve into open-source implementations, protocol specifications, and future research collaborations.
Deadline: October 30, 2026 · 11:59 PM PST
Research submission link to be announced.
// evaluation milestones
From submission to research exchange
October 31 – November 1
Eligibility and completeness review
Submissions will be checked for completeness, research relevance, clarity of the problem statement, and a credible proposed approach.
November 1 – 3
Technical and research evaluation
Eligible submissions will be assessed on originality, research depth, technical feasibility, PoC quality, reproducibility, practical impact, and potential for open-source contribution.
November 3 – 4
Selection and notifications
Selected participants will be notified following the evaluation process, with participation details shared directly.
November 4 – 6
Research exchange at Devcon 8
Connect with researchers, protocol designers, maintainers, and builders through the Resilient Networking Hub to discuss findings and explore collaborations.
Following Devcon
Virtual engagement at IETF 127
Continue the conversation with the wider networking and standards community through virtual participation, subject to the confirmed arrangements.
// participation fee waiver
Submit your research paper and PoC to qualify for a full fee waiver for Devcon 8 and virtual participation at IETF 127.
We want to make it easier for researchers and builders to contribute meaningful work to the networking ecosystem. Fee-waiver arrangements and participation details will be shared soon.
// who should participate?
Researchers, maintainers and curious builders
Researchers, PhD students, independent investigators, protocol engineers, open-source maintainers, and builders working on distributed systems, peer-to-peer networking, security, decentralized infrastructure, and agentic systems are welcome.
You can participate individually or as a team. We particularly encourage collaborations across research communities, protocols, and open-source projects.
// our goal
Build. Research. Experiment. Publish. Contribute.
This is more than a research submission program. It is an opportunity to turn open questions into prototypes, technical papers, reproducible experiments, and collaborative work that advances resilient networking.
Join the Resilient Networking Research Track at Devcon 8 Mumbai and help shape the next generation of open, interoperable, and resilient networks.