Compare BIPs
Pick any two proposals to see them side by side, or start with a common question.
- BIP 32 vs BIP 39: HD wallets vs seed phrases: BIP 32 vs BIP 39 explained: what each standard does, how a seed phrase becomes an HD wallet, and the key differences in inputs, outputs and formats.
- BIP 44 vs BIP 84: BIP 44 vs BIP 84 compared: derivation paths, address types (1... vs bc1q), xpub vs zpub, fees, and which one your wallet should use.
- BIP 44 vs 49 vs 84 vs 86: which derivation path?: BIP 44, 49, 84 and 86 side by side: derivation paths, address prefixes (1, 3, bc1q, bc1p), xpub, ypub and zpub, fees, and which path to choose.
- BIP 49 vs BIP 84: nested vs native SegWit: BIP 49 vs BIP 84: how nested SegWit (3... addresses, ypub) differs from native SegWit (bc1q, zpub) in scripts, fees, prefixes and compatibility.
- BIP 84 vs BIP 86: SegWit vs Taproot wallets: BIP 84 vs BIP 86 compared: bc1q vs bc1p addresses, ECDSA vs Schnorr, fees, privacy, zpub vs xpub, and which single-key wallet type to choose.
- Bech32 vs Bech32m (BIP 173 vs BIP 350): Bech32 vs Bech32m: the one-constant checksum change, why Taproot (bc1p) addresses need Bech32m, and which encoding applies to bc1q and bc1p.
- SegWit vs Taproot (BIP 141 vs BIP 341): SegWit vs Taproot (BIP 141 vs BIP 341): witness v0 vs v1, ECDSA vs Schnorr, bc1q vs bc1p, script trees, fees, and how Taproot builds on SegWit.
- PSBT v0 vs PSBT v2 (BIP 174 vs BIP 370): PSBT v0 vs PSBT v2 (BIP 174 vs BIP 370): what changed, why v2 lets you add inputs and outputs, the new fields and roles, and which version to use.
- BIP 21 vs BIP 321: Bitcoin URI schemes: BIP 21 vs BIP 321: what the updated bitcoin: URI adds (Lightning, silent payments, empty addresses, proof of payment) and what stays the same.
- BIP 8 vs BIP 9: soft fork activation methods: BIP 8 vs BIP 9 compared: block heights vs timestamps, thresholds, lockinontimeout (LOT) and mandatory signalling, and how SegWit and Taproot activated.
- CLTV vs CSV (BIP 65 vs BIP 112): CLTV vs CSV (BIP 65 vs BIP 112): absolute vs relative timelocks, nLockTime vs nSequence, limits, and how Lightning and escrow scripts use each opcode.
- APO vs CTV (BIP 118 vs BIP 119): APO vs CTV (BIP 118 vs BIP 119): how SIGHASH_ANYPREVOUT and OP_CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY work, what each would enable, their trade-offs and overlap.
- CTV vs OP_CAT (BIP 119 vs BIP 347): CTV vs OP_CAT (BIP 119 vs BIP 347): a purpose-built template opcode vs a general concatenation opcode, how each relates to covenants, and the trade-offs.
- BIP 2 vs BIP 3: the old and new BIP process: BIP 2 vs BIP 3: how the BIP process changed, from nine statuses to four (Draft, Complete, Deployed, Closed), plus new types, headers and rules.
- Schnorr vs MuSig2 (BIP 340 vs BIP 327): Schnorr vs MuSig2 (BIP 340 vs BIP 327): the signature scheme vs the multi-signer protocol built on it, how they differ, and when to use each one.