🧅 Mixnet Routing

Zor’s foundation is a next-generation mixnet — a routing layer that destroys metadata without sacrificing performance.

When you send a message, it’s split into packets, encrypted in multiple layers, and relayed through 3–20 random nodes. Each node removes a single encryption layer, delays the packet slightly, and sends it forward. This process — called mixing — makes it mathematically impossible to trace a packet’s path or timing.

Each hop only knows two things: the packet it received, and where to send it next. No relay ever knows the full route, source, or destination.

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🔁 Dynamic Hop Recovery

If a relay goes offline or misbehaves mid-route, Zor doesn’t break — it adapts.

Each route includes spare relays embedded in encrypted “recovery capsules.” When a node fails to acknowledge receipt, the previous node decrypts the capsule and reroutes traffic through a spare. The circuit heals itself instantly, keeping uptime near 100% without leaking any metadata.

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🧩 Why It Matters

Mixnets like Tor pioneered anonymous routing, but Zor modernizes it:

• Faster paths with adaptive routing and spare nodes.

• Verifiable reliability via zk-proofs of forwarding.

• Cryptoeconomic resilience — relays get paid, not burned out.

Zor’s routing isn’t just private — it’s self-sustaining.