Author: Mike Hearn 2013-09-07 21:44:38
Published on: 2013-09-07T21:44:38+00:00
The Bitcoin payment protocol can be used to exchange contact details between wallets, in order to encourage the spread of identifiable names and photos instead of long and hard-to-verify addresses. The idea is simple: when 2 BTC Bitcoin is sent to someone, a data lookup hash is inserted into the transaction. When it arrives on the other end, the hash is looked up and instead of being presented with a dialogue that says "you received 2 BTC from 13Y94z43Nbbb6wevRyk82CeDoYQ5S28zmA", it displays "You received 2 BTC from Frank Jones" along with a photo. However, there is concern about how the data is stored and whether it can be accessed by third parties. The goal is to find a decentralized way to store the data without relying on dedicated servers that could be coerced into giving up the information. The solution lies in using the payment protocol, which allows the recipient to vend a PaymentRequest containing identity details, while the sender submits a Payment containing their own details. The wallet then understands what to do.
Updated on: 2023-06-07T16:40:30.764631+00:00