Author: Alan Reiner 2012-04-03 21:12:54
Published on: 2012-04-03T21:12:54+00:00
During a discussion on the Bitcoin-development mailing list, Peter Vessenes suggested that users might benefit from being able to sign messages with existing Bitcoin identities. He clarified that he was not suggesting anything to the protocol itself, but rather exploring how this could be accommodated out of band. Wladimir suggested using PGP/EC to sign and verify messages, citing an already existing web-of-trust and keyserver infrastructure. However, Luke-Jr expressed concerns about adding too many features to Bitcoin, stating that it was fine for logging into a website, but anything approaching signing email would be going too far. Peter Vessenes agreed on the need to avoid adding unnecessary complexity to the protocol and suggested taking a step back and adding simplicity instead. He proposed a one-year required discussion period on all non-security changes to the blockchain protocol and emphasized the importance of considering the dangers of cruft over a 10+ year period when it comes to a technology that will necessarily include a complete history of every decision embodied in transaction histories.
Updated on: 2023-06-06T03:54:15.268419+00:00