bitcoin-dev

BIP 322 use case

BIP 322 use case

Original Postby ProfEduStream

Posted on: May 3, 2024 23:53 UTC

The Bitcoin association is currently encountering a challenge with their inability to sign an address using a multi-signature (multi-sig) wallet.

This issue has led them to explore Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 322 (BIP322), detailed in discussions found on bitcointalk.org and a pull request on GitHub. The association offers memberships accessible for a nominal fee, payable in satoshis (sats) annually. To streamline their financial operations, they employ "Swiss Bitcoin Pay," an application favored for its straightforward accounting management, user-friendly interface, and self-custodial features that significantly ease the process of onboarding merchants.

The need for signing a message as a "Proof-of-Ownership" arises from legal requirements in certain jurisdictions, which necessitates the use of a Bitcoin address on the "Swiss Bitcoin Pay" dashboard for this purpose. This requirement is not unique to "Swiss Bitcoin Pay"; for instance, Peach, a peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin application that does not require Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, also requires message signing for ownership verification. Aiming to decentralize their treasury, the association prefers using a multi-sig wallet, aligning with practices common among various companies to enhance security and governance.

However, the absence of progress on BIP322 poses a significant bottleneck, making it presently unfeasible to sign messages with a multi-sig wallet. This limitation highlights a critical gap in the Bitcoin ecosystem's infrastructure, underscoring the pressing need for developments that would enable message signing with multi-sig wallets. The person expressing these concerns anticipates that bringing attention to this issue will catalyze necessary improvements within the ecosystem, thereby facilitating more secure and decentralized financial operations for entities reliant on Bitcoin transactions and ownership verification methods.