Published on: 2022-05-04T00:26:46+00:00
In an email exchange between LL and vjudeu, the possibility of using Taproot to protect individual public keys with passwords is discussed. The proposed method involves creating a normal, Taproot-based public key in a secure and random manner. Another public key is then created by taking a user's password and executing a proper password hash on it to use as a private key. These two keys are combined in a Schnorr signature to form a 2-of-2 multisig. The first key is completely random, while the second key is a brainwallet derived from the user's chosen password. By default, all keys within a wallet can be protected with the same password, but it is also possible to choose different passwords for different addresses if needed.LL suggests that instead of using a hardware device with a pin to protect a secret key, a pinless device could be used in conjunction with a strong password and proper password hash. It is emphasized that sha256 should not be used to hash the password, as there are better options available for password hashing. While bip39 passwords offer similar functionality, they require entering the passwords into potentially malicious hardware devices. Descriptors can handle the protection of public keys with passwords in the same way as any other 2-of-2 multisig.Taproot, an upcoming upgrade for Bitcoin, will enable users to protect their public keys with passwords. This is achieved by combining a randomly generated normal Taproot-based public key with a second public key derived from a user-chosen password. The resulting 2-of-2 multisig incorporates both the randomly generated key and the password-derived key, providing an additional layer of security for Bitcoin users.
Updated on: 2023-08-02T06:22:11.547041+00:00