Author: Gregory Maxwell 2016-09-10 00:42:30
Published on: 2016-09-10T00:42:30+00:00
The Bitcoin alert system that allowed trusted parties to send messages to wallet software and remotely stop transactions has been removed from Bitcoin Core due to a number of problems. The system was a frequent source of misunderstanding and was not scalable to different software vendors. Additionally, it was unaccountable, creating a risk of misuse with a false origin to attack someone's reputation. The private key used in the system has also been compromised, making it necessary to fully deactivate it. The author plans to send a triggering alert in the near future and then disclose the private key in public to eliminate any further potential of reputation attacks. While there may be some small one-time disruptions of services, this is not expected to be worse than an alert advising of a new system upgrade.
Updated on: 2023-05-19T23:53:22.938434+00:00