Author: Mike Koss 2012-04-03 23:37:01
Published on: 2012-04-03T23:37:01+00:00
In this email conversation, Alan Reiner clarifies that he is not proposing any changes to the Bitcoin protocol itself, but rather an intermediate data format that can be used by applications to allow users to sign messages with their existing Bitcoin identities. The proposal is potentially useful and codebases already have everything they need in place to implement it. There are concerns about adding complexity to the protocol too rapidly and the dangers of cruft over a 10+ year period, so some members suggest extending existing standards like PGP/EC or making use of PGP to sign and verify messages. Others argue that signing messages is fine for logging into a website, but anything approaching signing email would be going too far. Overall, there is a call for simplicity and caution when considering changes to the Bitcoin protocol.
Updated on: 2023-06-06T03:53:14.487579+00:00