Author: Luke Dashjr 2017-09-05 17:03:39
Published on: 2017-09-05T17:03:39+00:00
In a recent email thread on the Bitcoin development mailing list, Thomas Voegtlin argued that xpub/xprv serialization should be used to encode how keys are used rather than just as a format for keys. Voegtlin pointed out that version bytes are currently being used to signal whether keys will be used on testnet or mainnet, which contradicts the argument that xpub/xprv serialization is only a format for keys. Without signaling the script type in the version bytes, wallet developers may resort to using "dirtier tricks," such as the bip32 child number field in combination with bip43/bip44/bip49. Luke Dashjr disagreed with Voegtlin and suggested using the child number field instead of version bytes for signaling the script type. He argued that it would make more sense to use the same seed for all different script formats and that it doesn't make sense to differentiate segwit specifically since xpub/xprv are already being used for both P2PKH and P2SH. The conversation highlights ongoing debates within the Bitcoin development community regarding the best practices for key management and storage.
Updated on: 2023-06-12T18:04:16.173252+00:00