Session, the encrypted messaging app known for its commitment to privacy, is preparing to launch its own token, SESH. Unlike speculative cryptocurrencies, SESH serves as the backbone of Session’s decentralized network, ensuring secure, censorship-resistant communication for its over 1 million monthly users.
But why does a messaging app need a token? How does SESH support the decentralized messaging experience? To answer these questions, we sat down one more time with Kee Jefferys, co-founder of Session to explore the role of SESH in their app and their upcoming roadmap.
Understanding SESH and Its Purpose
What is SESH, and why would a messaging app need a token?
SESH, short for Session Token, is one of Session’s superpowers. It undergirds the entire decentralised Session network and ensures that the Session protocol itself provides a sustainable incentive to Session Nodes operators all around the world. This makes Session unique from other messaging apps like Signal and Telegram, where servers are centralized, and if the company behind the app shuts down, so does the messaging app.
SESH has three key uses in the network:
- First SESH is required to run a Session Node, these are the nodes which route transactions and messages for Session users.
- Second, SESH is rewarded to users who stake or contribute to a Session Node, this provides an incentive to provide the storage and routing infrastructure to Session users.
- Third, SESH is used to upgrade your Session experience, Session users who want more storage, faster routing speeds and improved transaction and message processing can burn SESH tokens by paying a network fee. This network fee is used to sustain the incentive system for the collective Session Node network.
SESH powers every aspect of this unique network infrastructure and allows Session to be the first messaging application, with a sustainable, decentralised and highly censorship resistant network infrastructure.
How does SESH power the Session network?
SESH must be staked in order to operate a Session Node, Session Nodes in turn store and route all Session messages. By requiring a stake, Session increases the barrier of entry to attack the network and ensures node operators and contributors have skin in the game. Economically aligning node operators to provide performance hardware and allowing the protocol to punish nodes who are underperforming.
As well as that, operators and contributors are rewarded for the work that they do, validating transactions, storing and routing messages. A key part of Session Token’s economic design is the SESH Rewards Pool—a dynamic token pool that allocates rewards to the Session Node operators.
The best part? Additional utility is on the way, including paid features for Session power users and SNS (Session Name Service) handles. These purchases direct more SESH tokens to be burned and re-minted into the pool, and if the pool increases in size, so do the rewards for operators as a collective.
What makes SESH different from other blockchain-based tokens?
In short, Session has users! Over 1 million monthly active users, these are real users, not airdrop or points farmers, people use Session because Session is a real product solving a real problem for real people.
When you stake SESH tokens, you are a part of that. You are making a real difference in peoples lives by storing and routing encrypted messages. Connecting friends and family. Facilitating inside jokes, love letters, and late night meme exchanges. SESH is different because its community is doing something real.
Impact on Security & Privacy
How does SESH support and secure the decentralized messaging experience?
SESH secures the decentralised network by requiring node operators to stake Session Tokens to run a Session Node. This staking mechanism ensures that operators have a vested interest in maintaining the network’s integrity.
Session Nodes are responsible for routing and storing encrypted messages, reinforcing security by distributing data across a decentralised infrastructure. The staking requirement discourages malicious activity, as bad actors risk losing both their rewards and their staked collateral. Additionally, the network is self-governing, nodes that fail to perform their duties effectively are penalised, further ensuring reliable and secure message transmission within Session.
User Experience & Adoption
You mentioned there are over 1 million people chatting on Session monthly—how does the token benefit them?
Session users can enjoy several benefits of through usage of SESH. They will be able to use the token to subscribe to Session Pro and register with the Session Name Service. For the more blockchain-focused audience, SESH can also be staked to run Session Nodes
If I don’t care about crypto and just want a private messaging app, do I need to be involved with SESH?
Session is built to provide everyone, regardless of location or status, a way of communicating securely and anonymously. The app will always be free and accessible to all.
You can use Session just like any other messaging app without worrying about crypto. Users can buy premium features with their local currency from third party providers who arrange the fiat transaction and convert that fiat into Session Tokens on the user’s behalf. This ensures that users unfamiliar with crypto who pay for premium features still benefit the sustainability of the Session network.
SESH operates in the background to keep the network decentralized and censorship-resistant. It ensures Session remains independent and secure by incentivizing node operators who keep the network running. So while you don’t need to be involved with SESH, it plays a crucial role in making sure Session stays private and reliable.
For our crypto community, SESH offers additional benefits beyond private messaging, including opportunities to participate in the network by running nodes
Will SESH introduce any new features or premium services for users?
Yes, SESH will introduce new features like Session Pro, offering benefits such as increased file transfer limits and additional customisability for Session profiles, badges, and access to the Session Name Service (SNS), allowing users to register human-readable names linked to their Account ID.
Network Incentives & Tokenomics
How does SESH incentivize node operators to support the network?
Session Token serves as the incentivisation layer for Session Nodes, with rewards dynamically adjusting based on the size of the Staking Reward Pool. If the amount of tokens in the Staking Reward Pool increases, so too does the incentive for the network of Session Nodes.
Due to the network reward being evenly shared by each node in the network, higher network rewards can also incentivise new nodes to join the network, improving the performance and scalability of Session.
The system is designed to adjust based on demand.
“If the number of Session users grows and more users purchase premium features, more tokens are burned and subsequently reminted into the Session Rewards Pool, increasing the total rewards available for Session node operators,
Long-Term Vision
What’s the long-term vision for SESH?
The vision for Session is proving that privacy-first messaging can stand up to mainstream platforms. We’re already seeing more and more users moving to the Session app, and we hope this growth continues over the next years.
At the same time, Session is focused on bringing in more node operators to strengthen the network. A bigger, more distributed network means greater security and a truly decentralised ecosystem. The next few months are going to be exciting for both Session and SESH.
