Author: Mike Hearn 2014-03-26 20:49:39
Published on: 2014-03-26T20:49:39+00:00
Bitcoin developers Thomas V (Electrum) and Marek (Trezor) collaborated with Pieter, a developer of BitcoinJ, to create a compatible BIP32 wallet structure. The goal is to enable interoperability between wallets when importing 12-word paper wallets. The agreed-upon structure includes additional levels such as "cointype," which distinguishes between keys for alt coins or multisig outputs, and "reserved," which is intended for miscellaneous purposes. "Account" is meant to separate different wallets within a larger wallet to prevent coin mixing, while "change" specifies receiving versus change addresses. The hope is that the same seed can meet all user needs while still allowing some flexibility in what wallets support. While some argued that extra metadata might be necessary to encode key usage into an HDW hierarchy, the developers ultimately prioritized interop and agreed on the proposed structure.
Updated on: 2023-06-08T16:23:48.674212+00:00