Author: Mike Hearn 2015-03-11 23:22:10
Published on: 2015-03-11T23:22:10+00:00
The discussion revolves around the interoperability of wallet seeds between different devices and platforms. While users desire to have shared wallets, which is especially important for mobile/desktop wallets, it is not necessarily a good thing from a security perspective. Each new device and wallet software used increases the attack surface and exposure to flaws, thereby reducing the security level to the lowest common denominator. On the other hand, trying to make things incompatible will only prompt users to find workarounds or encourage wallet apps to learn how to import seeds from other apps. There are disagreements on how some things should be done, and there are genuine differences in functionality. Therefore, complete compatibility cannot be expected or demanded. However, the goal should be to minimize gratuitous incompatibility and reduce the amount of flawed constructions to enable choices among relatively good options. Standardizing such things in BIPs may help achieve this goal. Overall, while the need for a "fire exit" is undeniable, it must be remembered that fire exits could also be potential entrances for intruders. Therefore, it is better to explain the risks to users and help them mitigate them rather than making things gratuitously incompatible.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T18:10:27.657977+00:00