Per-network, per-nick client certificates (EC P-256, self-signed, 10-year validity) stored as combined PEM files. Authentication cascade: SASL EXTERNAL > SASL PLAIN > NickServ IDENTIFY. New commands: GENCERT, CERTFP, DELCERT. GENCERT auto-registers the fingerprint with NickServ CERT ADD when the network is connected. Includes email verification module for NickServ registration and expanded NickServ interaction (IDENTIFY, REGISTER, VERIFY).