Why OpenTimestamps does not "linearize" its transactions



Summary:

The discussion on the bitcoin-dev mailing list raised concerns regarding the unnecessary requirement of publicizing the .ots files for timestamping using the OpenTimestamps (OTS) system. However, Bryan Bishop clarified that publication is not a component of the OTS system and it would be trivial to include enough cryptographic information in the original OP_RETURN to obviate the need for publicizing the .ots file. The use case for OTS is proving document existence as of a certain time and that if you had doctored a file then said doctoring was no later than the earliest timestamp that can be provided. Additionally, Bishop shared a protocol designed for those who want more linearity and uniqueness guarantees from a timestamp - CommerceBlock's Mainstay. The discussion also touched upon the concern of replacing an earlier timestamp with a later one, but Bishop explained that one cannot replace a timestamp in the OTS system; they can only make a new timestamp.


Updated on: 2023-06-15T22:13:05.972513+00:00