BIP 80: Hierarchy for Non-Colored Voting Pool Deterministic Multisig Wallets
In plain English: Sets out a standard folder-like structure of keys for 'voting pool' wallets, where several parties jointly control funds using multisignature (multiple-key) addresses. Building on the HD wallet standards BIP 32, 43 and 44, it lets compatible software derive the same addresses from shared keys.
- Status
- Closed
- Type
- Informational
- Authors
- Justus Ranvier, Jimmy Song
- Assigned
- Last changed
- Topics
- Wallets
- Source
- bip-0080.mediawiki on GitHub · Markdown
Abstract
This BIP defines a logical hierarchy for non-colored voting pool deterministic multisig wallets based on an algorithm described in BIP-0032 (BIP32 from now on) and purpose scheme described in BIP-0043 (BIP43 from now on).
This BIP is a particular application of BIP43 and is based on BIP44.
Motivation
The hierarchy proposed in this paper allows the handling of multiple coins and multiple series from a single seed.
Path levels
We define the following 4 levels in BIP32 path:
m / purpose' / coin_type' / series' / address_indexApostrophe in the path indicates that BIP32 hardened derivation is used.
Each level has a special meaning, described in the chapters below.
Purpose
Purpose is a constant set following the BIP43 recommendation to: the ASCII value of "80" with the most significant bit set to indicate hardened derivation (0x80000050). It indicates that the subtree of this node is used according to this specification.
Hardened derivation is used at this level.
Coin type
One master node (seed) can be used for unlimited number of independent cryptocoins such as Bitcoin, Litecoin or Namecoin. However, sharing the same space for various cryptocoins has some disadvantages.
This level creates a separate subtree for every cryptocoin, avoiding reusing addresses across cryptocoins and improving privacy issues.
Coin type is a constant, set for each cryptocoin. The list of registered coin type constants should be obtained from BIP44.
Hardened derivation is used at this level.
Series
Series are used by voting pools in order to implement FIFO cold storage. By directing deposits into multiple series, the private keys for most of the deposits can be kept offline, and a limited portion can be brought online to process withdrawals.
Hardened derivation is used at this level.
Index
Public/private keypairs are numbered from index 0 in sequentially increasing manner. This number is used as child index in BIP32 derivation.
Public keys obtained at this level of the hierarchy are used to construct multisig deposit scripts, using a schema that is shared between the members as an out-of-band contract.
Public derivation is used at this level.
Compatible wallets
- btcwallet is the reference Bitcoin wallet for voting pools.
Copyright
This document is placed in the public domain.