Published on: 2014-11-08T19:36:07+00:00
The email thread discusses the development of decentralized 2FA wallets for Bitcoin, which require both a desktop/laptop and an Android smartphone app to function. Two different implementations are discussed: Bitcoin Authenticator and a wallet made by Christopher Mann and Daniel Loebenberger from Uni Bonn. Bitcoin Authenticator, developed by Alon Muroch and Chris Pacia, is currently in alpha and focuses on UI and a simple mobile security model. It uses P2SH/CHECKMULTISIG for the 2-factor functionality, but has downsides such as less support for address types and larger transactions that waste blockchain space and result in higher fees.To address these issues, Mann and Loebenberger have ported the DSA 2-of-2 signing protocol by MacKenzie and Reiter to ECDSA. Their implementation uses a combination of ECDSA, Paillier homomorphic encryption, and zero-knowledge proofs. Their protocol only works for the 2-of-2 case and their code is liberally licensed and easily integrated with Bitcoin Authenticator. Currently, neither project supports BIP70, which means that the transaction signing screen is not user-friendly or secure without trusting the destination address.The next step for these wallets is to implement support for sending a full payment request between devices. This will be pursued once the projects have obtained a reasonable user base and stability. The post also highlights the need for further research in the field of secure key escrow, as being one's own bank seems riskier compared to using traditional banks. Overall, these developments in decentralized 2FA wallets show promise in improving user experience and security in Bitcoin transactions.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T10:38:40.428762+00:00