Transcription of Episode 132 Multisig and Supernodes

Participants:
Adam B. Levine (AL) Host
Stephanie Murphy (SM) Co-host
Andreas M. Antonopouos (AA) Co-host
Aan !einer (A!) C"# o$ Armory%aet.com
Adam B. Levine: &oday is the second o$ Au'ust ()*+, and this is episode *-(.
&his pro'ram is intended $or in$ormationa and educationa purposes ony.
Cryptocurrency is a ne. /ed o$ study. Consut your oca $uturist, a.yer and
investment advisor 0e$ore ma1in' any decisions .hatsoever $or yourse$.
%ecome to Let2s &a1 Bitcoin, a t.ice-.ee1y sho. a0out the ideas, peope and
pro3ects 0uidin' the di'ita economy and the $uture o$ money. My name is Adam
B. Levine, and 42m here aon' .ith the other hosts o$ Let2s &a1 Bitcoin: Stephanie
Murphy-
Stephanie Murphy: Heo5
AL: And Andreas M. Antonopouos.
Andreas M. Antonopouos: Hey everyone5
AL: #n today2s episode o$ Let2s &a1 Bitcoin, .e2re 3oined 0y Aan !einer, $ounder
and C"# at the open-source Armory .aet. Aan, ho. are you6
Aan !einer: 7ood day, Adam5
AL: Be$ore .e 'et into it it2s 0een a .hie since .e2ve actuay had you on to
ta1 a0out Armory %aet. Can you 'ive isteners .ho may0e didn2t hear those
earier intervie.s a si8ty-second eevator pitch6 %hat2s the vaue 0ehind Armory6
%ho2s it $or6
A!: Armory is an advance dtoo $or 0itcoin .aet mana'ement. 4t2s s9uarey
$ocussed on the security side, not so much the ease-o$-use side. 4t is one o$ the
eariest aternative .aets that came out: .e started 0ac1 in ()**, 0e$ore most
peope even 1ne. .hat Bitcoin .as. And it2s one o$ the /ve $eatured des1top
.aets on 0itcoin.or'. And it2s in the cate'ory o$ ;do-it-yourse$ .aets<, much
i1e the core Bitcoin cient, "ectrum =and> Muti0it in that you have $u contro o$
your 1eys, and it respects the 'oa o$ Bitcoin $rom the start, .hich .as ena0in'
the user =to have> $u contro over their /nances =and> e8poitin' a the $antastic
0ene/ts o$ the Bitcoin net.or1. &he di?erence 0et.een Armory and the rest is
that .e have $ocussed very much on the secure side o$ thin's, and .e .ant to
provide a too $or the po.er users and the corporate users .ho mana'e very
ar'e 9uantities o$ money.
SM: Aan, 4 have to say 42ve 0een an Armory user $or 9uite a .hie no., and you
said it2s not reay $ocussed on ease-o$-use, 0ut 4 don2t /nd it di@cut to use. 4
don2t thin1 it2s reay hard to use, or anythin'...
A!: &here2s a rather si'ni/cant 0arrier to entry: 'ettin' set up .ith Bitcoin-core,
do.noadin' the 0oc1chain, thro.s o? a ot o$ users =and> uses a ot o$ dis1
space. 4 a'ree that once you2re set up, 4 thin1 .e2ve made the $eatures that it has
very easy to use, 0ut it2s sti not somethin' 4 .oud recommend to a0soute
ne.0ies to the Bitcoin space. &he pethora o$ $eatures and options can 0e a itte
over.hemin', and 3ust that 0arrier to entry can 0e a 0it much. But 4 do a'ree
that once you2re set up .ith Armory, and you have a 0it o$ an understandin' o$
.hat2s 'oin' on, .e2ve tried hard to ma1e these very advanced $eatures as easy
to use as they can 0e.
AL: 4t2s 0een a0out si8 months since .e2ve spo1en .ith you a0out this topic.
&here2s 0een a ot o$ deveopment that2s 0een 'oin' on. Can you 1ind o$ catch us
up on .hat you 'uys have 0een throu'h, and .hat the priorities have 0een over
the ast si8 months6
A!: So 4 thin1 ast time .e ta1ed 4 had 3ust started the company Armory
&echnoo'ies 4ncorporated. Be$ore that, Armory .as a persona pro3ect o$ mine,
and since then .e2ve hired $our ne. deveopers and .e have a coupe o$ other
participants hepin' out in the or'anisation. #ur $ocus has 1ind o$ evoved $rom a
'enera purpose too it2s sti a very 'enera purpose too, 0ut it2s evoved $rom
re'uar users .here .e2ve 0een $ocussin' on tryin' to 'et re'uar users as easy
as possi0e into Armory, and reco'nise that there2s a ot o$ demand $rom the
corporate side and enterprise side. &hese companies are mana'in' ar'e
amounts o$ money, and they need the toos to do so as securey as possi0e.
%e2ve $ocussed our e?orts a 0it more on that side, and providin' vaue to them.
Aor instance, .e had some ideas $or doin' a ite version o$ the .aet an Android
app .hat .e2ve $ound is that .e have a very hi'h num0er o$ enterprise users
$or .hom that2s not reay the important part o$ it. %hat they .ant is more
mutisi' $eatures, 0etter encryption options, 0ac1up options, se're'ation o$
duties... stu? i1e that. And so, .hie Armory is open source =and> anyone can 'o
do.noad and use it, 4 thin1 our $ocus is 0ecomin' more and more on that. %e2ve
made oBine .aets 4 didn2t mention it earier, 0ut oBine .aets are 1ind o$ our
caim to $ame, Armory .as pro0a0y the /rst one to ma1e a nice, intuitive
inter$ace and no. .e have 'eneric muti-si' that ao.s you to do anythin' up
to seven o$ seven, and .e2re $ocussin' our e?orts on hepin' or'anisations /'ure
out ho. to use these $eatures and evera'e them so that they can protect
themseves and not end up in more 7o8-stye disasters.
SM: &here .as a $ra'mented 0ac1up $eature, .here you coud create a 0ac1up o$
your .aet, 0asicay, and distri0ute it in mutipe pieces, and it coud 0e
reconstructed $rom some num0er o$ those pieces, .hich .as reay handy. Ho. is
the impementation o$ muti-si' di?erent $rom that6 %hat are some o$ the thin's
that someone mi'ht do .ith each one o$ those6
A!: &he $ra'mented 0ac1up is somethin' that .e made a0out a year a'o the
$eature. &he a0iity to ta1e your sin'e-si'nature .aet and create a 0ac1up, such
that the 0ac1up itse$ is not a sin'e point o$ $aiure. Be$ore that, and .ith most
other appications, you ma1e a 0ac1up and you have a sin'e sheet o$ paper that
is 0asicay the 1eys to your 1in'dom. And .hie you do need a 0ac1up, some
peope .ere concerned a0out the physica =security6>. Co., the 0ac1up isn2t
actuay needed to operate your .aet. 4t2s simpy, e8acty as it2s caed, a 0ac1up
in case your computer dies or you $or'et your pass.ord $or your .aet. So .e
made a $ra'mented 0ac1up: the idea that you sti have a sin'e-si'nature .aet,
and the net.or1 is sti e8pectin' a sin'e si'nature, 0ut you2ve removed the
physica sin'e point o$ $aiure .hen you ma1e a 0ac1up 0y creatin', say, a three
o$ /ve 0ac1up, and you have /ve pieces that you can move around distri0ute to
sa$e deposit 0o8es, 0ury them in your 0ac1 yard, 'ive them to $amiy mem0ers,
.hatever that may 0e. But, a'ain, the 0ac1up =audio cuts> they measure .hen
thin's 'o .ron'. &he net.or1. &here2s sti a sin'e 1ey that you need to move
money, and that sti technicay represents a sin'e point o$ $aiure, 0ut you
haven2t added one .ith the 0ac1up. Co., .ith the ne. muti-si' $eatures, .hat
.e2ve done is .e2ve actuay made the a0iity $or mutipe devices to 0e re9uire to
si'n in order to move money. And so it does sound very simiar. &he di?erence is
is .hat the net.or1 sees. %hen you create a three o$ /ve oc10o8, the net.or1
actuay contains /ve pu0ic 1eys, and a the nodes in the net.or1 are 'onna
chec1 they2re 'onna chec1 that three o$ the si'natures e8ist 0e$ore a
transaction is considered vaid. So, $or norma operations .hen you use a
oc10o8, you2re 'onna have to actuay visit three o$ those /ve devices or receive
si'natures $rom three o$ /ve participants, .hether .e2re ta1in' a0out =a> 0oard
o$ directors each havin' si'nin' authority over it, or you2re ta1in' a0out /ve
devices that you2ve spread out and 1ept 'eo'raphicay separate someho.. So
the 0ac1up $eatures 3ust 'ive you a .ay to 0ac1 up a sin'e si'nature, 0ut you
sti have a sin'e si'nature .aet, .hereas the muti-si' oc10o8es actuay et
you spit that si'nin' authority across and re9uire accessin' a certain num0er o$
them every time you .ant to e8ecute a transaction.
AA: 4 understand there2s aso a $undamenta di?erence in securiuty in those t.o
modes, in reconstructin' a 1ey that has 0een spit throu'h either the scheme
that you used or a more 'eneric, i1e, Shamir2s Secret Sharin'...
A!: %e do use Shamir2s Secret Sharin', 0y the .ay.
AA: #h yeah, #D. So, .rapped .ith a 0eauti$u 7E4 to hide the $act =that that2s>
.hat you2re usin'. %hen you .ant to e8ecute a transaction, you have to 0rin' a
o$ those parts o$ the 1ey to'ether and reconstruct them on a sin'e system. And
hat creates an o0vious vunera0iity, 0ecause that system has to 0e a0soutey
secure, and you2ve 3ust reconstructed the 1ey, .hich 1ind o$ creates a 0it o$ a
pro0em. Aso, .hen you create that 1ey in the /rst pace, that 1ey is created in a
sin'e pace 0e$ore it2s spit, so at t.o moments in time, that 1ey e8isted in a
sin'e pace .here it2s potentiay possi0e to e8pose it. Co., the 0eauty o$ muti-
si' is that each si'nature is e8ecuted separatey. &he private 1eys and pu0ic 1eys
that are 'enerated $or those si'natures are separatey 'enerated, and can
remain separate. %hen you need to do a transaction, the 1eys don2t have to
come to'ether. #ny the si'natures need to 0e positioned in se9uenc e on the
transaction, and those can 0e done independenty and asynchronousy. Co 1ey is
ever reconstructed. Fou 3ust e8chan'e si'ned transactions over the net.or1,
.hich means a ot ess opportunity to compromise more than one o$ those 1eys.
AL: So, i$ 4 .as 'onna summarise this simpy, it sounds i1e: .ith a $ra'mented
0ac1up, reay, .hat .e2re ta1in' a0out is a spit 1ey and .ith muti-si' .hat
.e2re ta1in' a0out is mutipe 1eys.
A!: "8acty, and, i$ you reay .ant to, you can actuay use Armory to create a
muti-si' oc10o8, and then create $ra'mented 0ac1ups o$ each o$ the si'nin'
1eys. 4$ you reay .ant to 0o. your mind, you can do that, athou'h some
peope mi'ht /nd that a 0it e8cessive. But it is possi0e, and it can 0e done .ith
Armory.
AA: #ne e8ampe o$ e8acty that: .hen you2re doin' estate pannin' and tryin' to
pan $or survivorship o$ the di'ita assets, you mi'ht have $or e8ampe, the
cassic conGict that peope have today, is that you have to 1eep your 1eys
secret. But i$ you 1eep them secret and somethin' happens to you, .hat does
your $amiy do a0out your 0itcoin6 %e, they can2t 'et to them, ri'ht6 So that2s a
0i' pro0em, at the moment, in the Bitcoin space. So the soution to that is to
1eep your 0itcoin in a muti-si'nature oc10o8, and to eave the possi0iity o$
someone 0ein' a0e to access that 0y si'nin' transactions a$ter your death or
durin' incapacity 0y reconstructin' that 1ey. 4$ you have a a.yer participatin' in
that scheme, $or e8ampe your estate panner or ;di'ita e8ecutor< as they are
caed, then that a.yer .i have to protect those e8tra 1eys very care$uy. &hey
mi'ht then use a spit-1ey scheme to put part o$ that 1ey in a sa$e, part o$ that
1ey in a sa$e deposit 0o8, et cetera et cetera. So that2s .hy you2d have a
com0ination o$ 0oth muti-si' as .e as spit 1eys.
A!: Aor our o.n use case, .e are not currenty usin' com0ined muti-si' and
$ra'mented 0ac1ups. %hat .e2ve done is .e2ve 0asicay repaced $ra'mented
0ac1ups .ith the muti-si'. So, 0e$ore, .here you had one 1ey 0ut you2ve spit it
into /ve pieces, you no. 3ust have /ve si'ners, .hich are mem0ers o$ our
or'anisation, to protect that money, and i$ you ose t.o o$ them, you sti have
the capa0iity to move the money. And you can even do thin's i1e asymmetric
si'nin', .here me, $or instance, as the C"#: i$ it2s a three o$ /ve, 4 mi'ht have
t.o si'natures, so the other three participants the three participants aone are
enou'h to move the money, or the C"# pus one more is enou'h to move the
money. %e e8poit this $or our operations. =audio cuts> coupe tiers o$ muti-
si'nature $unds. &he most re'uar one that .e use is simpy our petty cash
account, .here it2s 3ust me and our C## .ho have 1eys, and then another
0ac1up 1eys in case one o$ us oses one o$ ours. And it2s reay $or handin', you
1no., day-to-day operations. 4t does actuay provide, once you are $amiiar .ith
the muti-si' inter$ace in Armory it is very simpe, and he .i create the
transaction and add one si'nature to it this is a t.o o$ three 0y the .ay, so it2s
me, him and a 0ac1up si'nin' 1ey he .i create the transaction and he .i si'n
it, and then he .i send it to me as .e as a te8t messa'e veri$yin' the address
that the money shoud 0e 'oin' to. 4 can revie. it and ma1e sure that 4 a'ree
.ith it. 4 simpy add a si'nature .hich ma1es it vaid, and then 4 can 0roadcast =it>
to the net.or1.
SM: So, in that situation, .ho has the 0ac1up 1ey6
A!: &he 0ac1up 1ey is an oBine 1ey controed 0y the company.
SM: 42m curious: you2ve 0een, o0viousy, testin' out di?erent scenarios in
di?erent use cases $or muti-si' transactions $or a .hie. Have you encountered
any issues .ith them6 4 mean, i1e, .hat you descri0ed sounds i1e the cassic
muti-si' corporate use $or muti-si' 0itcoin .aets, 0ut .hat issues have you
had6 Has someone not 0een avaia0e .hen they needed to send $unds, or has
there 0een any issues i1e that6
A!: %e, 4 thin1 one o$ the nice thin's a0out muti-si', more than 3ust 4 mean, i$
you have t.o o$ t.o, three o$ three, $our o$ $our, you do have some $ra'iity in the
system, and you 1no., i$ one o$ the 1eys is ost, the money ends up 0ein' oc1ed
$orever. But one o$ the 0eauties o$ muti-si'nature transactions, and $ra'ments
and 0ac1ups, any o$ these =m o$ n?] schemes is that you not ony 'et the e8tra
security o$ mutipe points there2s no on'er a sin'e point o$ $aiure, no.
someone .oud have to compromise mutipe points in order to ta1e the money
0ut you aso have a redundancy, Fou have the a0iity you are re9uirin' mutipe
si'natures, 0ut you don2t need all o$ the si'natures. So, i$ some participants are
not avaia0e, or some devices are not easiy accessi0e, you can set it up
0e$orehand to anticipate .hat those parameters .i 0e and the avaia0iity o$ the
various si'ners to avoid those issues. And as $or the company and my persona
use, .e haven2t reay e8perienced any issues .ith it.
AA: Aan, ast time 4 heard a0out this, it .as sti in the apha sta'e o$
deveopment. %oud you say that Armory2s muti-si' $eatures are ready $or
production no.6
A!: %e2ve 3ust posted a 0eta version to our .e0site perhaps a .ee1 a'o: may0e
t.o .ee1s a'o. &his is a pre-reease. &he desi'n o$ the inter$aces, the desi'n o$
the messa'in' $ormats, and ho. peope e8chan'e data that2s a sta0e, tested
and ready to 'o. A ot o$ .hat .e2re doin' no. is 3ust ceanin' up the inter$aces
and ma1in' sure that .hen you cic1 a 0utton, there2s no errors or cryptic thin's
'oin' on.
SM: Aan, ho. on' did this ta1e to impement and test in Armory6 4 mean, 4 1no.
that the capacity $or muti-si' transactions has 0een 0uit into Bitcoin $or a .hie,
0ut it seems i1e 3ust no. is .hen a ot o$ muti-si' so$t.are is comin' out. So
.hat .as the process i1e $or 0uidin' it, as a coder6
A!: %e, 4 can say that 42ve 1ind o$ 0een $antasisin' a0out impementin' this
$eature $or a very on' time, and un$ortunatey other priorities have come up over
the past year. 4n the meantime, .hie 42ve 0een .or1in' on other thin's, 42ve 1ind
o$ in the 0ac1'round 0een deveopin' the ideas in my mind, thin1in' a0out
ho. it .oud 0e impemented. And it .as actuay very satis$yin' that .hen 4
/nay decided that 4 had the time and priority to 'o into it, it .as very e@cient
and 4 $et i1e 4 had a very 'ood 'rip on not ony ho. to 'et it done in a usa0e
.ay, 0ut aso a secure .ay. Li1e, $or instance, the muti-si' that .e impemented
is not ony very Ge8i0e in that you can do one o$ t.o up to seven o$ seven, 0ut it
.or1s .ith onine and oBine devices. Armory is very $amiiar .ith the securty
issues surroundin' oBine computers. #Bine devices can si'n transactions
securey .ithout 0ein' tric1ed into si'nin' somethin' they2re not intendin' to
si'n. 4t .as actuay very satis$yin', 0ecause 4 had a these thin's 0re.in' $or
pro0a0y a year, and .hen 4 /nay 'ot into doin' it - 0uidin' a those inter$aces,
and a the messa'e $ormats, and 0ein' a0e to hande onine and oBine
computers .as somethin' that actuay came 1ind o$ naturay to me, and it
pro0a0y too1 me a0out
AL: (Presumably added in post-production) &his part o$ the audio .as 'ar0ed.
Aan says it too1 him three or $our months to compete the apha version.
A!: the apha version o$ that inter$ace runnin'. And .e .ere very happy .ith it.
As Andreas mentioned, .e did reease a coupe o$ months a'o, and .e have
since revised it. But the process has 0een, actuay, more smooth than .e
e8pected.
SM: %hat2s your 0ac1'round .ith respect to computer security6 Fou spea1 a0out
Bitcoin security 42ve seen you spea1 a0out that .hat did you do 0e$ore
Armory6
A!: So 0e$ore Armory, 4 actuay .or1ed at a pace caed Hohns Hop1ins Appied
Physics La0, and they do 'overn-- Iepartment o$ Ie$ence contractin'. 4 .as
actuay .or1in' on missie de$ence, .hich .as someho. ess interestin' than
Bitcoin, .hich is .hy 4 moved over here. 4 .as .or1in' on missie de$ence
appications and automatic tar'et reco'nition. 4t .as actuay a $antasticay
interestin' /ed to .or1 in, 0ut over the years, 4 deveoped even 0e$ore Bitcoin
4 had ta1en 'rad schoo casses in crypto'raphy and security, and 4 .as a
ho00yist in studyin' crypto'raphy. 4 mention in my presentations a0out 0ein' an
;utra-paranoid crypto nerd<, and 4 thin1 that other utra-paranoid crypto-nerds
1no. e8acty .hat that means. %e2re the 1ind o$ peope .ho .i come up .ith
doomsday scenarios and put on our tin$oi hat and try to come up .ith the
craJiest attac1 vectors that someone coud desi'n to stea your data, and then
/'ure out ho. you .oud de$end a'ainst that. &hat .as somethin' that 42ve 0een
doin' as a ho00y $or many years.
AA: Aan, one o$ the thin's that 4 thin1 is very interestin' a0out Armory2s muti-
si'nature impementation is that there2s a ot more to muti-si'nature than 3ust
the ra. technoo'y, 3ust the capa0iity .ithin Bitcoin. A ot o$ it has to do .ith
understandin' .hat2s 'oin' on, and .ith or'anisin' the .or1Go. around
coectin' si'natures and assi'nin' parties, essentiay, to e8ecute a transaction.
&here2s a ot o$ security considerations there. Co., 4 noticed Armory has
introduced 0oth some ne. terminoo'y and some ne. importKe8port $ormats,
and messa'es $or transportin' those messa'e $ormats in order to ma1e the
.hoe .or1Go. and user e8perience a ot easier to .or1 .ith. So, 4 have a coupe
o$ 9uestions there. #ne, are you 'oin' to 0e
AL: (added in post-production, presumably due to bad audio) standardisin' and
sharin' those
AA: Bitcoin improvement proposas so that perhaps other inter$aces .or1in'
.ith muti-si'nature can impement that stu?6 And t.o, i$ someone is aready
usin' muti-si' 4 am, $or some o$ my accounts, as .e is it possi0e to ta1e
e8istin' muti-si'nature redeem scripts and import them into Armory, into the
ne. inter$ace and .or1Go. system6
A!: A0out the standardisation: .e2ve 0een as1ed this 9uestion a $e. times, and
a 4 can say a0out that is that throu'h the desi'n process, there2s a ot o$ Gu8,
there2s a ot o$ tur0uence in /'urin' out not ony .hat data needs to 0e
trans$erred, 0ut ho. to present that to the user, and ho. the users are 'onna
transmit data, and .hat are the attac1 vectors $or someone to manipuate that
data in transit, and so $orth. %e2ve thou'ht a0out a o$ those thin's, and there
have 0een desi'n iterations 'oin' throu'h the process o$ deveopin' this
inter$ace, and =unintei'i0e> processed to 0e e@cient. Standardisation .asn2t
reay anythin' .e coud thin1 a0out. &hat2s not to say .e don2t ever, 0ut the $act
is that there are a ot o$ parties independenty doin' their o.n thin', and to 3ump
ri'ht into standardisation 0e$ore .e even 1no. e8acty .hat is 0ein'
standardised, .hat a the components are, and a the use cases, .e 0asicay
had to $or'o that at the 0e'innin'. And it2s very much i1e the .ay Armory and
"ectrum came up .ith their o.n deterministic .aet a'orithms, and then it .as
a year and a ha$ ater that the community 'ot a very 'ood 'rip on e8acty a the
di?erent use cases $or deterministic .aets and 0ac1up $eatures, and B4P -(,
.hich is no. the standard HI .aet impementation. But Armory and "ectrum
.ent a very on' time .ithout and 4 thin1 that that .as actuay important $or
innovatin' in the space, that 0e$ore you even have a 'rip on .hat you2re sovin',
you need the Ge8i0iity to not have to see1 permission $rom mutipe other parties
0e$ore you e8periment .ith your desi'n decisions.
AA: &hat2s a very 'ood point. Fou mentioned HI .aets, .hich 0rin's out the
ne8t 9uestion 4 had $or you: does the muti-si' impementation in Armory use B4P
-( hierarchica deterministic .aets6 And a ot o$ other muti-si' impementations
tried to use HI as .e. Ioes yours6
A!: Armory does not yet. %e have a ne. .aet $ormat that .i 0e usin' muti-
si', that .i 0e usin' the B4P -( standardised .aets. %e haven2t had it hi'h in
our priority ist 0ecause .e aready have deterministic .aets: 4 mean, .e have
LMN o$ the 0ene/ts o$ usin' deterministic .aets, 0ecause .e have it, so LMN o$
the 0ene/ts o$ usin' HI .aets .e aready have. So it hasn2t 0een a hi'h priority
$or us to impement that, 0ut it is pro0a0y one o$ the ne8t thin's that .e do, is to
impement that and then Armory .i 0e standardised. En$ortunatey, that2s a
0essin' and a curse, so to say: 0ein' the /rst to mar1et, .e had the /rst
deterministic .aet impementation out there, on' 0e$ore B4P -( e8isted, 0ut
no. .e oo1 i1e .e2re 0ehind the times 0ecause .e haven2t impemented it. But
.e2re 'ettin' there.
SM: %hat2s the di?erence 0et.een the impementation o$ deterministic .aets
that you use versus B4P -(6
A!: &he ones that Armory uses creates a chain it2s caed a deterministic .aet,
0ecause it creates a deterministic chain o$ addresses, meanin' that you can ta1e
a sin'e seed. Four .aet 0asicay comprises o$ a seed, and that seed is pu''ed
throu'h a math e9uation to 'enerate consecutive 1eys. So .hen you 'enerate a
miion addresses .ith your .aet and then you ose your .aet, as on' as you
have that 1ey, you can produce the same miion addresses. Armory2s a'orithm
is inear, meanin' you start .ith a seed and 4 can say ;'ive me the thousandth
address< and 1eep that. HI .aets .ere an e8tension o$ that, .here you can
actuay create a tree, and you have 0ranchin', and it2s 0asicay as Ge8i0e as it
can 0e. Basicay, a$ter Armory and "ectrum did their deterministic .aets, the
community .as oo1in' to standardise. &hey reaised there .ere 0ene/ts to
havin' the a0iity to not ony 'enerate ne. addresses, 0ut aso, say, ne. .aets:
that you can have a sin'e seed that .i 'enerate mutipe di?erent .aets
deterministicay, so that theoreticay you coud maintain () .aets .ith a
miion addresses in each and they2d sti a 0e 'enerated $rom that seed.
SM: &han1s $or e8painin' that--
A!: --ne. standardisations is much much more Ge8i0e than .hat Armory has
ri'ht no., and that is .hy .e2re 'onna impement it. 4 thin1 the 0ac1up $eatures
and =unintei'i0e> .aet capa0iity, the a0iity to 'enerate the addresses .ithout
havin' the private 1eys that2s one o$ the 0ene/ts o$ HI .aets, and they2re
0ene/ts that .e aready that .e sti have. %e 3ust don2t have the Ge8i0iity to
'enerate mutipe .aets and do 0ranchin' in our a'orithm. %e don2t see it as a
ma3or 0arrier $or any o$ our users at the moment, 0ut certainy, .e do i1e the
interopera0iity and the Ge8i0iity. %e .i /nd .ays to e8poit that, to ma1e use o$
that Ge8i0iity .hen .e do impement it. But ri'ht no., as 4 said, the core 0ene/ts
o$ usin' the B4P -( =and> HI .aets .e have a those aready.
AA: %e, you pioneered those. Ouic1 $oo.up 9uestion: you didn2t ans.er i$ .e
coud ta1e e8istin' muti-si'nature arran'ements or accounts or .aets usin'
pay-to-script hash addresses and redeem scripts. 4$ those can 0e imported, .e
can ta1e advanta'e o$ the user inter$ace and .or1Go. capa0iities in Armory.
A!: As on' as the 1eys are sorted propery, and 0y ;propery<, 4 mean the
community has a'reed on a .ay to sort those 1eys, 0ecause the sortin' does
chan'e the address. (AA grunts in agreement) As on' as they2re sorted
apha0eticay, so to say, there shoud 0e no pro0em usin' that: you can ta1e the
same pu0ic 1eys, you can pu' them into the Armory inter$ace. 4$ you put them in
out o$ order, Armory .i re-order them $or you. Fou shoud have access to those
$unds that .ay. 4t2s tou'h to say $or a 'iven scheme, .ithout oo1in' at the
detais o$ it, ho. much $unctionaity you .oud 'et out o$ that, 0ecause there2s
other detais: i$ you create a P(SH address you 1no., a three o$ /ve usin' /ve
pu0ic 1eys i$ you .ere to import those /ve private 1eys into Armory and the
1eys .ere sorted correcty, you coud use Armory to do the si'nin'.
AA: &han1 you.
SM: Andreas, 4 don2t understand that 9uestion that you 3ust as1ed. Coud you
dum0 it do.n a itte 0it and e8pain it a'ain6
AA: Armory uses some ne. terminoo'y and or'anises mutipe 1eys into a
oc10o8, .hich is 1ind o$ an a0straction o$ a muti-si'nature account. But
o0viousy, the muti-si'nature capa0iity has e8isted no. $or over a year. 4 use
muti-si'nature addresses, .hich are essentiay Pay to Script Hash or P(SH
addresses: these are addresses that start .ith a - instead o$ a *, and those are
specia Bitcoin addresses that represent a script, and in this particuar case they
represent a muti-si' script .hich re9uires more than one si'nature in order to
redeem. 4 aready use those in practice: no., creatin' transactions $or those and
si'nin' $or those is compicated you have to use the Bitcoin-core cient, you
have to use the command-ine inter$ace or there are a coupe o$ Havascript
impementations that .i do it $or you and it2s pretty nerdy and =cue'y6> and
di@cut to use. Armory no. has a 0etter user inter$ace $or doin' a o$ that, 0ut
these addresses aready e8ist, so my 9uestion .as ;can 4 import the constituent
1eys o$ those addresses and re-use them .ithin the 0etter .or1Go. and inter$ace
o$ Armory6<
SM: Ah, 'otcha.
AL: And the ans.er .as ;yes, i$ you sort them correcty<.
AA: Fes, so 1eep in mind that the script that is used $or Pay to Script Hash
address is the script that is hashed and produces that address that starts .ith a
-. So i$ you put the 1eys in a di?erent order, .hen you hash that, o0viousy, the
hashin' a'orithm .i produce a competey di?erent output, .hich .i produce
a competey di?erent address. Same 1eys, same scheme, t.o o$ three, $or
e8ampe, si'nature scheme: 0ut i$ instead o$ 1eys ;A, B, C<, you ist them as ;B,
A, C< or ;C, B, A< or ;C, A, B<, that2s 'onna produce three di?erent payment
addresses, a o$ .hich are unoc1ed 0y the same 1eys, 0ut o0viousy, that2s
'onna cause some con$usion in the inter$ace.
AL: 4$ 4 have, say, a seven-part muti-si', .oud that sti 0e an address that starts
.ith a -6
AA: Feah, - simpy is the pre/8 that2s 'iven to a Pay to Script Hash address, .hich
is either a muti-si' or actuay can 0e any type o$ Bitcoin script, .hich can
encode much more compe8 redemption criteria or restraints. &he muti-si'nature
is the most common use o$ those. &he - doesn2t mean anythin' a0out the
num0er o$ si'natures or .hat the script is.
A!: 4 tend to thin1 o$ it as: the * addresses, the addresses start .ith *, are your
standard sin'e-si'nature addresses that have 0een in use since the 0e'innin' o$
Bitcoin. And the - addresses are 1ind o$ a itte .rap-around everythin' ese.
Basicay, anythin' ese that anyone is 'onna ever do in Bitcoin that2s more
compe8 than 3ust a re'uar sin'e-si'nature address .i end up startin' .ith a -,
and muti-si' happens to 0e the most 'enera, the most common e8pected use
case o$ those types o$ addresses. 4n the $uture, i$ .e start to see more contracts,
or more compe8 thin's .ith Bitcoin, and someone says ;hey, 4 .ant you to pay
me<, and they have some craJy thin' 'oin' on they2ve 'ot t.enty-seven peope
.ho need to si'n di?erent thin's, or certain contract types, a'ain, you2 3ust see
that address .ith a - in $ront o$ it.
AA: Hust $or $un, 42ve created a muti-si'nature vanity address .hich is a Pay to
Script Hash that starts .ith a -, and it spes ;-ACI!"AS<, 0ut a'ain, that2s
actuay a sin'e si'nature =address> 0ut it 3ust oo1s $unny. So you can do some
very interestin' thin's .ith that technoo'y.
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(Record scratch noise)
4t2s time $or the ma'ic .ord5 &oday2s ma'ic .ord is armor. &hat2s ;armor<, A-!-M-
#-!. Armor. Fou2ve 'ot unti %ednesday the Q
th
o$ Au'ust to visit
Lets&a1Bitcoin.com and su0mit the ma'ic .ords $or your share o$ the L&B istener
re.ards.
(Record scratch noise)
&oday2s second L&BC sponsor, at Q),(T) L&BC is Hive%aet.com. &he copy on
their pa'e is actuay 'ood enou'h that 42d 3ust i1e to read you a itte 0it o$ that.
;Hive is a human-$riendy di'ita to1en .aet $or mutipe pat$orms<, athou'h it
$ees especiay suited $or mo0ie devices. ;%hy use Hive6 Fou can 'et started in
seconds and access your .aet $rom any device, and uni1e hosted .aets, the
ne. Hive doesn2t store your coins on a server any.here. %ith 3ust your
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&here2s no need to 0ac1up your .aet, 3ust your passphrase. %ritin' it do.n and
1eepin' it sa$e $or storin' it in a pass.ord vaut is essentia: i$ you ose it, you2
ose your coins. Hive is secure. 4t2s an HI, or ;hierarchica deterministic< .aet, it
supports mutipe to1ens ri'ht no., Bitcoin and Litecoin, 0ut more in the .or1s
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catch it6 and 3oin that conversation in our $orums 0y cic1in' on the
;community< ta0.
(Intermission ends)
AL: #ne o$ the thin's that 42ve a.ays .anted to do .ith Armory .as to run a
.e0store o$ it, or somethin' i1e that, and .hen .e .ere ta1in' a0out this ast
.ee1, 4 .as reay peased to hear that this is somethin' that you 'uys have
thou'ht a0out and are pannin' on.
A!: Aoo.in' up on .hat 4 said earier a0out puttin' more $ocus on the corporate
and enterprise environment, e8acty as you said 0usinesses that .ant to
evera'e Armory, not 3ust $or super-hi'h security savin's that they2re 'onna si'n
once a month and manuay mana'e those 1eys they .ant to 0e a0e to run
services, much i1e they use .ith Bitcoind. Armoryd is the capa0iity to do that:
it2s the AP4. 4t2s 0asicay a pro'rammatic version o$ Armory. 4t doesn2t have a 7E4,
and instead o$ accessin' .ith mouse cic1s and typin' on a 1ey0oard, you access
it throu'h net.or1 services and throu'h other appications on the computer. And
you can automate various $eatures, i1e, $or instance, creatin' .aets and
'eneratin' addresses and veri$yin' =that> the payments came in. Fou 1no., i$
you2re runnin' an e8chan'e that2s receivin' a thousand payments a day, you
can2t have someone sittin' there manuay oo1in' throu'h and veri$yin' that a
o$ them happened. Armoryd is, 3ust i1e Bitcoind the ;d< stands $or daemon. 4t2s
a service that runs in the 0ac1'round, and you connect to it pro'rammaticay.
&hat is .hat you use .hen you .ant to inte'rate Bitcoin $eatures, or the Armory
$eatures, into your appication, into your .e0server, into your .e0 store, or
anythin' o$ the sort. 4 started the company. %e had a version o$ Armoryd, 0ut it
had 0een severey ne'ected 0ecause there .asn2t a ot o$ demand $or it. Co.
that .e have more peope invoved in the or'anisation, .e have more deveopers
and .e2re $ocussin' more on enterprise users and po.er users, that has
de/nitey made priority. And 4 thin1 since a0out si8 months a'o, Armoryd has
may0e dou0ed, may0e triped in siJe, as .e put a ot o$ $ocus on ma1in' sure
that a the $unctionaity that2s avaia0e in the 7E4 and the user inter$ace is aso
avaia0e pro'rammaticay throu'h Armoryd. And aon' .ith that is a the
testin' and ro0ustness $eatures o$ that, ma1in' sure that anythin' that you
.oud .ant to do, that you 1no. you can do, .ith the inter$ace, you can aso do
.ith Armoryd.
AA: So Aan, you ta1ed a 0it a0out Armoryd o?erin' some $eature $unctionaity
parity .ith Bitcoind, .hich is the Bitcoin core cient. #ne o$ the controversies that
has erupted atey, and is in discussion a ot, is the $act that a .ea1ness in
Bitcoind, $or many deveopers especiay those runnin' ar'e commercia
merchant or .aet appications is that you can2t monitor the unspent
transaction output set i$ you don2t have the address .ithin the 0itcoin .aet,
.hich ma1es it very un.iedy $or runnin' services on top o$ it, or 0uidin' a
pat$orm on top o$ it. Have you ta1en a di?erent approach .ith Armoryd6 Can it
0uid a competey ar0irtrary E&U# set $or runnin' a pat$orm on top o$ it6
A!: !i'ht, so. &he version o$ Armoryd that .e have ri'ht no. simpy mimics the
user inter$ace, and it attempts to provide you =.ith> a the same $eatures, .here
in the inter$ace, you2re trac1in' a set o$ .aets, and i$ you .ant to trac1 a ne.
address or a ne. .aet, you2re 'oin' to have to 'o 0ac1 throu'h and rescan the
0oc1chain to recoect the history and the unspent outputs $or those .aets so
that you 1no. ho. to spend the money. Ho.ever, one o$ the thin's that .e2ve
0een $ocussin' on in the ast coupe months is up'radin' Armoryd, and not 3ust
Armoryd, 0ut 0asicay the en'ine underyin' 0oth the 7E4 and Armoryd, to have
somethin' that .e ca ;Supernode<, .hich is somethin' that can actuay trac1
the entire 0oc1chain a at once. 4t2s somethin' that .e2ve .anted to do $or a
.hie, and it2s somethin' that .e e8pect .i 0e in hi'h demand in the $uture,
meanin' that you 0uid one master data0ase and you2d 0e a0e to use it much
i1e a 0oc1 e8porer, .here you can 3ust 'o to a 0oc1 e8porer and type in an
address (i1e Boc1"8porer, Boc1chain.in$o) you 3ust type in an address and see
the entire history o$ that address, the 0aance, and .hat coins have 0een spend.
And that2s somethin' that Bitcoind doesn2t have, and currenty Armory doesn2t
have it either, 0ut .e e8pect that in the ne8t month or t.o .e2 actuay 0e
/nished .ith that, and then .e2 have the capa0iity $or corporate users to put
one o$ these Armory supernodes on their net.or1, runnin' Armoryd, and it can
run a their services o? o$ it: a o$ their Bitcoin-reated services.
SM: %hy .oud someone need to 0e a0e to monitor the unspent transaction
outputs6
A!: #ne reason .oud 0e that you2re handin' ots o$ money, or you2re handin'
transactions $rom ots o$ peope that you don2t trust, and you .ant to 0e a0e to
9uic1y veri$y that the coins have 0een spent, even thou'h you haven2t 0een...
=i$> someone sends you money, or they send you a transaction, you2re not sure
.hether, perhaps, they2ve e8poited somethin' or in3ected data into your
net.or1, and you 3ust .ant as cear a $u picture o$ the net.or1 as possi0e.
Enderstand that everythin' is 1osher .hen you see data: sometimes you .ant to
9uery Armoryd or Bitcoind to 'et that in$ormation, and ri'ht no., 0oth Armoryd
and Bitcoind don2t have that $u picture. &hey can 'ive you a sice o$ it. Some o$
these peope use services i1e Boc1chain.in$o, .hich is a .e0pa'e =.here> you
can 'o oo1 this stu? up. &hey actuay inte'rate that into their service, so their
service, .hen it needs to veri$y that coins they received are actuay vaid, they
actuay contact 0oc1chain.in$o and .hat .e2d i1e is $or them to have this
server that has *))N o$ the picture, that has a that capa0iity $or them to 0e
a0e to do everythin' internay .ithout dependin' on a third-party service.
AL: !i'ht, so this ao.s them to 0e competey se$-reiant, 0asicay. So, i1e, i$
.e .ere runnin' () di?erent stores on the L&B net.or1 or somethin' i1e that,
then they can a essentiay re$erence this one as the e9uivaent6 Because ri'ht
no., .e are pu''ed into Boc1chain.in$o, and usin' their AP4 in order to pu this
sort o$ in$ormation .henever .e need it. %e .oud 3ust run one o$ these nodes on
one o$ our o.n servers, or a server that .e ran, and then everythin' .oud 3ust
re$erence that and .e .oud 1no. that it2s trusted 0ecause .e mana'e it6
A!: Feah, the other e8ampe is i$ you2re runnin' a service that o?ers, $or e8ampe,
.aets: either custodia .aets or muti-si'nature .aets, and you .ant your
customers to 0e a0e to create transactions. %e, in order to create transactions,
you need to coect an unspent transaction output $rom a o$ their .aets. !i'ht
no., you can2t do that and use Bitcoind as your net.or1 inter$ace to the rest o$
the Bitcoin net.or1 .ithout importin' every sin'e one o$ your customers2 1eys
into the Bitcoind .aet in order $or it to 0e a0e to coect the unspent
transaction outputs they have. So it $orces you to use the .aet on the Bitcoin
core cient, .hich is actuay a pretty poor impementation and even the
deveopers su''est a'ainst usin' it. 4$ you .ant to use the data0ase $eatures to
oo1 up thin's on the 0oc1chain that correspond to addresses, you have to have
that address in the .aet, and that2s a .ea1ness: it2s 0ecome a 0i' controversy,
0ecause it ma1es it very di@cut $or peope to 0uid pat$orm servics on top o$ the
Bitcoin core re$erence.
AL: Andreas, this is the hair0a pro0em that .e2ve ta1ed a0out 0e$ore, ri'ht6
%here, 0ecause Bitcoin the core impementation o$ Bitcoin is one soid piece
that you can2t use anythin' in a vacuum $rom a o$ the other pieces, it creates
these issues6
AA: &hat2s part o$ it. &here2s a ac1 o$ moduarity .ithin the impementation itse$,
.hich 0y the .ay is o0viousy 'ettin' 0etter a the time, and has 'otten
si'ni/canty 0etter in the past. But it aso has to do .ith priorities. &here2s a
imited num0er o$ deveopers deveopin' on Bitcoin-core, and they each have
their o.n priorities and desires, and some thin's that a ot o$ peope .ant 0ut
aren2t part o$ the Bitcoin core deveoper 'roup simpy don2t 'et prioritised. #$
course, the ans.er to that is ;i$ you .ant it, deveop it yourse$<, 0ut there2s a
1inds o$ conGicts and di@cuties in decidin' e8acty .hat the priorities shoud 0e.
As .ith any open-source pro3ect, this is not uni9ue to Bitcoin, o$ course.
SM: #D, so 42m curious to hear the picture painted o$ ho. someone .oud run a
.e0store usin' this ne. Armoryd.
A!: &echnicay, you coud do it ri'ht no. .ith the e8istin' .aet, .hich is that
the e8istin' impementation .on2t hande ()),))) addresses, 0ut smaer .e0
shops and some are actuay usin' it ri'ht no. et me 'o throu'h a sampe o$
ho. someone mi'ht use Armoryd $rom the start. %hat they2re 'onna do is they2re
'onna create t.o .aets, and one o$ them is 'onna 0e a hot .aet, and one o$
them2s 'onna 0e a cod .aet. And .hat they2re 'onna do is they2re 'onna put
the hot .aet on the server, .hich is 'onna hod a very itte amount o$ money
0asicay enou'h to process your tiny transactions o$ sma re$unds. &hen they2re
'onna put a .atchin'-ony copy o$ their oBine .aet on there, $or handin' the
ma3ority o$ money that2s comin' in. &he idea is that the si'nin' authority $or the
0u1 o$ that money remains oBine, and in the $uture .e2 aso 0e addin' muti-si'
to this picture. But ri'ht no., you .oud have an onine and an oBine .aet, and
the .e0server .oud simpy 0e a0e to monitor the $unds in the .aet 0y usin'
Armoryd. &heir service .i 0e a0e to ta1 to Armoryd, and say ;4 have a
customer .ho .ants to send us money $or a payment. Pease 'ive me a ne.
payment address<, and Armoryd .i then 'o to the .aet and 'ra0 the ne8t
address to distri0ute to that customer so that they can pay. And a$ter the
customer has paid, Armoryd .i 0e a0e to te them that that transaction .as
received ho. many con/rmations does it have6 &hey can 9uery in$ormation
a0out that transaction, and then they can continue to run their .e0 shop, to ta1e
su0se9uent actions to ship out the merchandise or so $orth. &he 0ene/t o$ that is
that they can actuay receive a their payments directy to an oBine .aet, 0ut
they sti have to capa0iity to distri0ute, to coect money, and veri$y that that
money came in .ithout puttin' the 1eys to the 1in'dom on that .e0server,
.hich may not 0e so secure.
SM: 4s this somethin' that e8chan'es do, or coud do6
A!: 4 0eieve that at east the 0i' e8chan'es have a come up .ith their o.n
impementation o$ this. Somethin' that does simiar, and perhaps 0ecause
Bitcoind .asn2t su@cient and Armoryd hadn2t 0een mature, 4 thin1 a ot o$
e8chan'es and other pat$orms have 0uit their o.n soutions $or doin' this, and
one o$ our 'oas is to actuay no. ma1e Armoryd as Ge8i0e and e8tensi0e as
possi0e, so that companies can save themseves a ot o$ e?ort, and not reinvent
the .hee, and simpy use ours.
AA: &here2s some ris1 invoved in dee'atin' these types o$ tas1s to e8chan'es,
0ecause it creates centraisation, and 0ecause in many cases these
impementations are not trustess: the .hoe point o$ doin' it .ith your o.n
instaation o$ Bitcoin is 0ecause everythin' is independenty veri/ed. Four trust is
0ased on havin' a $u copy o$ the 0oc1chain and 0ein' a0e to veri$y
transactions, rather than pacin' trust in a third party. 4$ you do it i$ you
dee'ate that responsi0iity to a third party, in many cases, you are trustin' that
third party: and concentratin' trust in third parties ta1es us do.n the road .e2ve
0een =do.n> 0e$ore and ends in tears.
SM: Feah, 4 .asn2t su''estin' to dee'ate it. 4 .as 3ust as1in' i$ that .as
somethin' that e8chan'es did, or, i1e, ho. do they operate no.6
AA: #h yeah, a0soutey, 0ut it2s important to point out that in many cases that is
e8acty .hat happens: that, 0ecause it2s too di@cut to do on your o.n, peope
do dee'ate that, and they dee'ate it in a trustin' .ay to a third party, an
e8chan'e perhaps. And i$ that third party is handin' a o$ those thin's, then, in
many cases, puttin' the trust in that third party is a dan'erous precedent, and it
creates centraisation. So it2s important to oo1 at soutions i1e Armoryd, and a
0etter soution is $or decentraisation, .hich ao.s you to have trustess
veri/cation o$ the 0oc1chain, on your o.n in$rastructure, competey
independent o$ other parties.
A!: 4 mean, this is the cassic merchant-customer scenario, .here the customer
mi'ht 0e a0e to .ire their o.n house or repace outets, somethin' i1e that, 0ut
ris12s invoved. &hey can 'et it done, and they can 'o .atch Fou&u0e videos and
spend some time earnin' a0out it, 0ut they2re not 'onna do it as .e as
someone .hose i$e is devoted to these thin's. And 4 .oud say the same thin'
a0out the .ay Armory is approachin' this, is that a ot o$ these companies can
'o hire peope and train them to earn a0out ho. the net.or1 .or1s, and ho. to
a''re'ate unspent outputs and monitor 0aances, 0ut you2re not necessariy
'onna end up .ith somethin' that2s as ro0ust as =Bitcoind6>, especiay .hen you
hande ots o$ money. %hen you oo1 at the maea0iity issues that happened, 4
thin1 si8 months a'o, at Mt7o8 not 3ust Mt7o8, 0ut a coupe o$ services have
compained that there .as issues caused 0y the maea0iity that is somethin'
that Armory actuay didn2t have a pro0em .ith. %e had aready thou'ht a0out
stu? i1e that. And simiary, oBine transactions: there2s actuay some very
su0te attac1s, that i$ someone contros the onine computer, they can tric1 the
oBine computer into 0eievin' it2s si'nin' somethin' that it isn2t, and a'ain,
Armory is our 'oa 4 mean, .e2ve 0een doin' this $or years, .e2ve thou'ht
a0out those thin's, and .e2ve done it in a secure .ay. And .hie you can hire
some peope and teach them a0out Bitcoin, and try to 'et them you 1no., 0uid
your o.n soution it2s very much i1e they say a0out crypto'raphy in 'enera,
;don2t 'o ro your o.n<, 0ecause athou'h stricty spea1in' it mi'ht .or1, you
then 0ecome vunera0e to timin' attac1s and a sorts o$ nasty thin's that ony
someone .ho2s spent many years in the /ed .oud reay understand.
AL: So, .e2re comin' to the end o$ this conversation. Aan, 4 .ant to than1 you
a'ain $or ta1in' the time to e8pain thisto us: 42m reay oo1in' $or.ard to seein'
some o$ the muti-si' stu? ro out. 4 .anna ta1 a0out Armory as a pro3ect, and
Armory as an open-source pro3ect speci/cay. %e2ve seen a ot o$ .aets come
into this space, most o$ them are not do.noad-and-put-it-on-your-computer
.aets: most o$ them are turnin' into the sort o$ hosted service .aets, and even
they don2t necessariy 1eep your 1eys, so there isn2t that attac1 vector 9uite so
much as there used to 0e .ith some o$ the oder .e0 .aet styes 0ut it
de/nitey seems i1e this $u node, ;do.noad the .hoe 0oc1chain and reay
contro everythin'< is not somethin' that is 0ein' deveoped in the .ay that you
are, e8cept 0y you 'uys. %hat do you thin1 a0out that6 %hat2s the e8perience
0een i1e, and ho. is it operatin' in this space as an open-source company6
A!: &hat2s partiay a reason .hy .e2ve $ocussed on the corporate side. #ne,
0ecause there2s demand $or it, and t.o, 0ecause .hat .e2ve 0uit is somethin'
that is every day 0ecomin' ess and ess a too $or re'uar ne. users. %hen you
ta1 a0out do.noadin' the 0oc1chain today, i$ you use 3ust Bitcoin-core it ta1es
three days, i$ you use Armory, .e actuay impemented a Bittorrent do.noad to
speed it up to $our hours. %e coud spend time optimisin' that and tryin' to
ma1e that particuar part o$ the user e8perience easier, 0ut in the end, the
corporate customers6 &hat2s not somethin' that2s reay reevant to them. &hey
have the time to 'o do.noad the 0oc1chain and set everythin' up and .or1
throu'h those start-up 0arriers to entry. 4$ .e .ere 'onna $ocus more on a
consumer-$acin' side, $or peope .ho are ne. to Bitcoin to 0e introduced throu'h
Armory, .e .oud 0e spendin' a ot o$ our $ocus ri'ht no. on a ite version o$
Armory and a mo0ie version and perhaps some 1ind o$ .e0 app or some 1ind o$
0rid'e to ma1e these $eatures accessi0e. Co., that2s not to say that .e .i not
do this, 0ut the $act is is that .ith our imited amount o$ resources, .hat .e2re
oo1in' at ri'ht no. is: .e have a very stron' enterprise o?erin'. !i'ht no.,
.e2re 'onna capitaise on that. %e don2t have to compromise .ith any o$ our
ideas to do that: .e2 sti 0e competey open-source, and a the $eatures that
.e deveoped .i sti 'o into that $ree product that you do.noad, and .e2re
committed to doin' that. 4t2s simpy very much i1e !ed Hat, E0untu, many o$ the
other open source pro3ects that you see: you can 'o do.noad a copy o$
Mun'oIB, and use it to your heart2s content, ho.ever you .ant, 0ut many
peope 'o ahead and pay $or contracts .ith the company that deveops Mun'oIB
$or support, to hep inte'rate into their process, trou0eshootin', so $orth. 4 thin1
that2s one o$ the directions that .e2re 'onna 'o in the short term as .e deveop
that, especiay once .e have thin's i1e Supernode competed, .e2 then have a
0etter path to creatin' more consumer products. Aor instance, 0ein' a0e to run
our o.n Supernode and have ;ite nodes< connect to it: that2 open up an easier
path $or us to provide a mo0ie .aet, and to provide a ite version o$ Armory. 4t2s
3ust not 9uite on our priority ist at the moment.
AL: But i$ peope .oud i1e to earn more a0out the company Armory, or i$ they2d
i1e to earn more you 1no., 3ust 'et invoved .ith the so$t.are since this is
an open-source pro3ect, .here shoud they 'o6 %ho shoud they contact6
A!: BitcoinArmory.com is our .e0site, and i$ you are interested in contactin' us,
3ust $or .hatever reason, you can 3ust emai contactP0itcoinarmory.com, and i$
you are a company that2s oo1in' to 'et invoved .ith Bitcoin, .ith Armory, .e
no. have enterpriseP0itcoinarmory.com .hich is a channe that .e2ve opened
up $or 0usinesses that .ant to 'et that are investi'atin' usin' Armory as their
pat$orm. Fou can contact us there to discuss options .ith us.
AL: And 3ust as a /na thou'ht, 4 do .ant to mention, .e didn2t have time here to
'et to the e8tension suite, 0ut Aan, can you reay 0rieGy ta1 a0out .hat type o$
user that2s $or6
AL: &he e8tensions is not somethin' that .e anticipate re'uar users .i use
much. %hat it simpy does is it ao.s us a .ay to e8tend the core code o$
Armory. &his isn2t somethin' .here you open up Armory and you2re 'onna see
thirty e8tensions, some o$ .hich are ena0ed 0y de$aut: it2s reay a mechanism
$or us, actuay .ith corporate cients, to 0e a0e to provide them $eatures,
customise to them $or instance, creatin' certain types o$ reports or reportin' on
any compiance issues, various encryption options, .e0 o$ trust options.
Basicay, customise a part o$ Armory to them .ithout 0undin' everythin' into a
sin'e code 0ase so that .e can continue to 1eep Armory itse$ open-source and
$ree, and a the core o$ it avaia0e $or re'uar users $or $ree, 0ut .hen they use
Armory, they .oud use that same version 0ut they2d simpy hire us to .rite them
somethin' that inte'rates Armory into their pat$orm, and .e can provide that to
them as a coupe o$ /es that they 3ust drop into their e8ecution directory.
AA: Aan, are there any e8citin' thin's that are in the immediate $uture $or
Armory, and as Armory users, anythin' that .e shoud 0e oo1in' $or.ard to6
A!: 4 thin1 muti-si' is the most e8citin'. 4t2s somethin' that .e2ve .anted to do
$or a on' time, and no. .e2ve done it. 4 thin1 that the ne. .aets are 'onna 0e
a 0i' dea. %e haven2t /nished those yet, and they2re 'onna come out a$ter muti-
si', and .e .i adapt our muti-si' soution to usin' those. But .e2 0e a0e to do
a sorts o$ ne. stu?: compress pu0ic 1eys that .i ao. you to 'o up to /$teen
o$ /$teen: ne. encryption options, ne. 0ac1up options. &here2s a ot o$ coo stu?
comin' .ith that, and .e anticipate that muti-si' is .hat2s 'onna 0e our $ocus in
the immediate $uture, as there2s very hi'h demand $or that, and then ne. .aets
.i ao. us interopera0iity .ith other cients as .e as a host o$ convenience
$eatures, $or instance, the a0iity to 'enerate mutipe .aets and 0ac1 them a
up .ith one seed.
AL: &han1s $or istenin' to episode *-( o$ Let2s &a1 Bitcoin. Content $or today2s
sho. .as provided 0y Aan !einer, Stephanie Murphy, Andreas M. Antonopouos
and Adam B. Levine. &his episode .as edited 0y Adam B. Levine. Music $or
today2s sho. .as provided 0y Hared !u0ens and 7enera AuJJ. Here2s some 9uic1
stats $rom the L&BCoin pro'ramme: $rom Huy Q to Au'ust *, .e sa. *,-TQ artices
and sho. comments: *TT ne. $orum threads: (,(ML ne. $orum repies: L,T)*
ne.y vie.ed content (that2s a metric .e2ve made that 0asicay ony counts
=vie.s6> per person), ()T ne.y re'istered and con/'ured users, *,-)- ma'ic
.ords correcty su0mitted, *,))( posts that .ere i1ed, and a tota o$ RLL users
participated and spit a0out *.Q miion L&BCoin. 4$ you sti haven2t si'ned up,
head over to Let2s&a1Bitcoin.com, and to earn more hit L&BCoin.com. Have a
'ood one5