Author: Mark Friedenbach 2017-09-17 15:36:48
Published on: 2017-09-17T15:36:48+00:00
The discussion on the Bitcoin-dev mailing list revolves around the compatibility of Bech32 and WIF payload format. The issue is that the ambiguity of the WIF format is preventing the release of a segwit-capable version of Electrum. It is not acceptable to use the current WIF format with segwit scripts as it would create technological debt, forcing wallets to try all possible scripts. Two options are presented: disable private keys export in Electrum Segwit wallets until a common WIF extension has been agreed upon or define a new WIF extension for Electrum. Defining a new format makes sense for xpub/xprv but less so for WIF which is mostly used to import/sweep keys from other wallets. It is noted that designing a new wallet import format now and later switching it to Bech32 is possible. Other wallet developers are asked about their plans for exporting private keys used in segwit scripts in the current WIF format.
Updated on: 2023-06-12T18:50:15.595674+00:00