The IETF website features a draft (Internet-Draft) of the IPv8 protocol, which is finally set to replace the outdated IPv4, something that the IPv6 protocol has failed to accomplish fully.
The main feature of IPv8 is its compatibility with IPv4, which is used in most devices.
What an address looks like in the new standard:
IPv4: 93.184.216.34 IPv8: 0.0.251.240.93.184.216.34 — essentially represents two IPv4 addresses in sequence: the first part indicates the 'operator/network', while the second part signifies the 'host'. If the first part of IPv8 consists of four zeros (0.0.0.0.192.168.1.10), it will essentially be a regular IPv4 address, routed according to the old rules.
IPv8 will add approximately 18 quintillion new IP addresses. This is 4.3 billion times more than the entire range of IPv4.
With the adoption of IPv8, the need to conserve IPv4 addresses, which have long been in short supply around the world, will disappear. Any device will be able to receive its unique IP address, and a simpler, more transparent network should ultimately make the internet more stable and understandable for users and technical staff.
The validity period of the presented draft draft-thain-ipv8-00 is until October 16, 2026.
Discussion on Hacker News (link provided @kaldeon)
Update from 04/19/2026: the low level of drafts published on ietf.org has indeed become a serious issue, as evidenced by the emergence of the parody draft meow-protocol draft-meow-mrrp-00, which was pointed out by @mumpster.
Source: linux.org.ru
