Subspaces

Subspaces are individual identities within a community Space. In the figure above, we see examples of this hierarchical structure:

• alice@nostr

• bob@bitcoin

• mike@x

Here, Alice, Bob, and Mike are subspaces or unique identities within their respective community Spaces: @nostr, @bitcoin, and @x.

The Spaces protocol is being built in two stages. Initially, it will launch on the Bitcoin mainnet, implementing the base layer, which includes on-chain auctions and top-level Spaces. Work on Subspaces will begin after the mainnet launch and will be implemented as a soft fork.

Subspaces are key to scalability as they enable the creation of millions of individual identities within each community space. They have a much lower on-chain footprint, making them more accessible and affordable for everyone!

Key Benefits

• Subspaces, unlike traditional domains, are sovereign and permissionless identities.

• Once issued, they cannot be taken down by their respective community.

• They can do 100% of their transactions on-chain if they wish treated the same as a parent space.

• They are cost effective to maintain.

How You Can Engage

While we work towards implementation, you can:

• Read the paper for initial design notes on subspaces.

• Experiment with subspacer, a tool that creates validity zk-proofs. These proofs attest that the subspaces trie was updated correctly, without revealing the individual changes.

• Read initial thoughts on storing records for spaces & subspaces off-chain.

• Join the Community: Contribute or discuss ideas, join our Telegram group.