Author: Marcel Jamin 2017-03-05 06:29:16
Published on: 2017-03-05T06:29:16+00:00
A proposal has been put forth by John Hardy to introduce an anonymous, opt-in, unique node identification mechanism that would help counter sybil attacks. Every node would have the opportunity to create a node 'address'/unique identifier, which could even come in the form of a Bitcoin address. The node on first installation generates and backs up a private key and the corresponding public key becomes that node's unique identifier. If the node switches to a new software version or a new IP, the identifier can remain constant if the node operator chooses. Asking a node for its identifier can be done by sending a message with the command 'identify' and a challenge. This would add a small but very useful piece of data when compiling lists of active nodes. Any register of active nodes can have a record of when a node identifier was "first seen", and how many IPs the same identifier has broadcast from. Also, crucially, we could see what software the node operator has been seen running historically.
Updated on: 2023-06-11T22:03:34.565656+00:00