Published on: 2014-04-29T19:12:49+00:00
Gavin Andresen, a core Bitcoin developer, initiated a discussion regarding the clarification of how BIP70 signs payment requests. The issue was about the signature field before signing, and Andresen suggested that instead of setting the signature to an empty string, it should be cleared so that it is not serialized at all. He said that this type of mistake is why BIPs take a while before being declared 'Final. 'BIP70 is already in use with over a hundred paid requests, but Andresen believes that changes need to be made now, while it is still a 'Draft.' The email also includes a link to a free automated cross-browser testing platform.In an email exchange discussing the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 70, Mike Hearn argues that changing the signature field now would be too difficult and cause chaos for early adopters. He suggests that setting the signature field to an empty byte array is fine, as the payment protocol is already being implemented by various wallets and companies such as BitPay and Coinbase. Ryan X. Charles, a software engineer at BitPay, is included in the email thread. The email ends with a promotional message for automated cross-browser testing.The argument is about the implementation of the payment protocol in several wallets, including BitPay and Coinbase. The author argues that setting an empty byte array is fine and changing such a basic thing at this point would cause chaos for early adopters, punishing them instead of rewarding them. They believe that accepting BIP 70 and moving on would be the best course of action. The adoption of the payment protocol is seen as vulnerable at this stage and any changes could seriously hurt it.Gavin Andresen, a developer of Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs), has called for clarification on how to sign payment requests in BIP70. There is currently a discussion on Github regarding the issue of what to do with the signature field before signing. The current code sets the signature to an empty string, but Andresen believes this is a mistake and should instead clear the signature field so that it is not serialized at all. Andresen is seeking input from those who have implemented the payment protocol in order to change the spec and reference implementation while BIP70 is still in draft status.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T09:08:36.116319+00:00