Published on: 2022-08-05T10:52:41+00:00
Ali Sherief has created a new Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) called notatether-signedmessage. The BIP outlines a step-by-step process for signing and verifying messages from various types of Bitcoin addresses, including legacy, native/nested segwit, and taproot addresses. The BIP does not introduce a new signature format, except for the case of Taproot addresses. For Taproot addresses, a specific signature format is defined, consisting of a 1-byte header/recID, 64-byte signature, and 32-byte x-coordinate of a public key. This format is necessary to run the BIP340 Schnorr verify algorithm using only the signature. The BIP also integrates BIP137 signatures.Pavol Rusnak suggested that Ali should focus more on Taproot and position his BIP as strictly a "Taproot message signing BIP," rather than expanding on BIP137. Rusnak proposed that Ali move the algorithms and related content to the Bitcoin Wiki, leaving the BIP focused solely on Taproot. Ali plans to move the Taproot signature format to its own BIP in the future, as defining formats in an Informational BIP is considered unacceptable. Ultimately, Ali advocates for the adoption of BIP322, which he believes should have a user-friendly format similar to RFC2440.In another email conversation between Ali Sherief and Luke Dashjr, Ali proposes advancing a specific BIP before considering Taproot/Schnorr and two related extensions. The purpose of this BIP would be to provide a reference manual for correctly computing ECSDA sign/verify, addressing the issue of wallets not implementing sign/verify correctly due to the lack of a reference manual. However, Luke Dashjr expresses skepticism about the need for an additional message signing standard that does not address the problems with the current standard or BIP322, which, despite having superior message verification capabilities, is not widely used by wallets due to being a draft and incomplete.In an email sent on August 5th, 2022, Ali Sherief emphasizes the importance of advancing BIP322 as a priority. He acknowledges that BIP322 has superior message verification capabilities but notes that it is not currently used by wallets, likely due to its draft status and incompleteness. Ali likens BIP322 to a "bumper car" that enforces compliance with previous BIPs extending the message signing format, particularly BIP137. However, Luke Dashjr argues against the need for an additional message signing standard that does not address the existing problems.In response to a new BIP proposal by Ali Sherief for notatether-signedmessage, Luke Dashjr inquires about not helping Kalle with BIP322. Ali explains that while BIP322 may have superior message verification capabilities, it is not widely used by wallets, which rely on a mixture of legacy address sign/verify and nonstandard segwit sign/verify. Ali believes it is necessary to first establish a common ground for these different signing implementations before enforcing BIP322. He emphasizes the importance of ensuring widespread adoption of the proposed BIP for message signing and verification, along with implementing the legacy and segwit address components. Ali acknowledges that the Taproot signature format should be located in a newer Standards Track BIP that supersedes BIP137. Implementing this proposal will address only half of the existing problems, and the other half requires getting other wallet implementations to adopt the standard. He acknowledges that this task is non-trivial and suggests assigning a number to the BIP to facilitate progress.
Updated on: 2023-08-02T07:14:47.143901+00:00