Author: Peter Todd 2023-08-04 17:39:03+00:00
Published on: 2023-08-04T17:39:03+00:00
Wallets are not permanent and can be compromised or lost, leading to the addresses generated from those wallets becoming toxic data. Funds sent to these addresses can be easily lost forever. This is a problem that affects all Bitcoin addresses, but existing Bitcoin addresses are not meant to be reused. Silent Payments, on the other hand, are designed to allow users to safely pay to a single address multiple times without privacy concerns.However, it is important for Silent Payment addresses to eventually expire in order to avoid harmful mistakes. The solution proposed is to add a 3 byte field to silent payment addresses, encoding the expiration date in terms of days after a certain epoch. With 2^24 days, which is equivalent to 45,000 years, there is more than enough time before expiration. Alternatively, 2 bytes could be used, allowing for an expiration period of 180 years, which should be sufficient considering the uncertain future of Bitcoin.To ensure usability, wallets should set a reasonable default expiration period, such as 1 year, for newly created addresses. If an attempt is made to pay an expired address, the transaction should simply fail with a message stating "address expired". This concept can also be applied to Lightning invoices, where expiration is necessary for similar user experience reasons.In conclusion, addressing the issue of expiring Silent Payment addresses is crucial to prevent the loss of funds and maintain the integrity of the Bitcoin system. By implementing a simple expiration mechanism, wallets can provide a safer and more reliable experience for users.
Updated on: 2023-08-07T17:42:32.348735+00:00