Author: Alan Reiner 2014-01-13 19:59:08
Published on: 2014-01-13T19:59:08+00:00
The context describes a proposed system for Bitcoin payments that involves distributing the root public key (but not chaincode!) of a BIP32 branch. This root key can be put on a business card and given to someone who wants to pay you. The multiplier is also given, which doesn't reveal the chaincode but does confirm that the final address they are paying is derived from the root key they know belongs to you. It is possible to choose whether or not to reveal that a payment address is linked to your root key without compromising privacy. This proposed system has advantages over "stealth addresses" and can easily be integrated into a web of trust (with signed root keys), or CA system piggybacking on SSL. The author had planned to implement this system and push for people to accept it because there are no downsides to it. It is suggested that the system could be extended using some kind of deterministic sub-branching and/or ECDH to create multiple payment addresses without querying the payee.
Updated on: 2023-06-07T23:45:39.863148+00:00