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Kovri is a C++ implementation of I2P. I2P is an acronym for Invisible Internet Protocol. The idea behind I2P is to create an anonymous internet. To me, your average semi-educated enthusiast, this poses a hurdle to hosting remotely-accessible nodes.

If I2P is anonymous, then the Monero network may not have people right and left saying "here, connect to my remote Kovri node!" And, certainly, it seems silly to think that the nodes would identify themselves regionally (if I live in Greenland, I don't want to accessing a node in Antarctica, for speed reasons, at least), since you aren't supposed to be able to tell from where an I2P site is being physically hosted.

With that said, is all of that irrelevant? Will the Monero network self-assemble over I2P, just as it has over clear net? Will an individual who doesn't run their own node [eventually] be able to tell their wallet to search and find a node on I2P on its own?

I tend to ask rhetorical questions to frame my thought process, in hopes of getting more than a simple yes or no. If the answer turns out to be a short one anyway, perhaps I'll edit down the body of the post.

scoobybejesus
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The goal as outlined by Mr. Fluffy is to use I2P to broadcast transactions and provide Monero services.

By default, Monero nodes would still connect as they do now for communicating new blocks and transactions. Wallets would not broadcast transactions through the local node, and instead would broadcast through I2P in an attempt to hide the IP that initiated the transaction. Devices such as phones would connect to a specific I2P router of the users selection to get latest account balances or to broadcast transactions.

Basically Monero nodes will be offering monerod RPC services over I2P. The advantage is that user does not have to configure dynamic DNS or accept inbound connections for this to work (although the latter would be helpful for the network as a whole). The phone (or other device) simply needs the I2P address - which is used for routing, encryption, and authentication. This way a user only needs to run a single node (which would have the highest amount of trust), and can have multiple devices connect to it easily with minimal setup. A user could also provide this service to less technical people fairly easily - only an I2P address needs to be exchanged. Presumably this Monero service would require client authentication for some RPC requests, to limit resource usage.

Or that is how I understand the intended goals.

Lee Clagett
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