Hierarchy for Deterministic Multisig Wallets

The five-minute read

One action, walked through

1. Open BIP 87 and read the status line before the examples.
2. Write down the rule in one sentence. A fair version of that sentence is: A sane hierarchy for deterministic multisig wallets based on an algorithm described in BIP-0032 (BIP32 from now on), purpose scheme described in BIP-0043 (BIP43 from now on), and multi-account hierarchy described in BIP-0044 (BIP44 from now on).
3. Name the object that changes: BIP32, BIP43, BIP44.
4. Ask what an old client, an old contract, or an offline counterparty does. If the document is silent, the silence is part of the design.

The argument, unpacked

What has to be true

• You are implementing BIP 87 at the status the text itself states: Complete.
• The object that has to change is BIP32, BIP43, BIP44. A neighbouring document with a similar name is not this one.
• Constants in the text can be superseded by a later fork. Cite the EIP number and the fork you mean.

What happened after the paper

The source marks this complete. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it. Later documents can narrow, replace, or ignore this one. Cite the number you mean.

What to check before you use the idea

• What does Hierarchy for Deterministic Multisig Wallets charge, reject, or redefine on the first touch versus a later one?
• Does a reverted subcall roll the change back?
• Can you point at the object in a client: BIP32, BIP43, BIP44?

Terms

BIP 87

The public text titled Hierarchy for Deterministic Multisig Wallets.

Complete

The document's own label for how finished the text is. It is not a market fact.

The problem the paper names

An underpriced or ambiguous EVM rule is not a feature. It is a block that takes longer than the gas limit claimed, or a client that disagrees about the result.

What the design proposes

• A sane hierarchy for deterministic multisig wallets based on an algorithm described in BIP-0032 (BIP32 from now on), purpose scheme described in BIP-0043 (BIP43 from now on), and multi-account hierarchy described in BIP-0044 (BIP44 from now on).
• With the increase of more user friendly (offline) multisignature wallets, and adoption of new technologies such as [https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/descriptors.md the descriptor language] and [https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0174.mediawiki BIP-0174 (Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions)], it is necessary to create a common derivation scheme that makes use of all new technologies.
• As background, BIP 44/49/84 specifies: m / purpose' / coin_type' / account' / change / address_index where the BIP43 purpose' path is separate for each script (P2PKH, P2WPKH-in-P2SH, and P2WPKH respectively).

How the mechanism is specified

• Taken from the specification, the next constraint is: With the increase of more user friendly (offline) multisignature wallets, and adoption of new technologies such as [https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/descriptors.md the descriptor language] and [https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0174.mediawiki BIP-0174 (Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions)], it is necessary to create a common derivation scheme that makes use of all new technologies.
• Locate BIP32, BIP43, BIP44 in BIP 87 and apply it to one transaction or call.
• Then check the failure the class of rule always has: a node that did not upgrade, a reverted call, a replayed signature, or a peer that does not speak the message.

What this page does not treat as proven

• A gas or opcode change is not a throughput benchmark. It is a relative price and a validity rule.
• Constants in the text can be superseded by a later fork. Cite the EIP number and the fork you mean.
• The source marks this complete. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it.

Why a venture studio still reads it

Use BIP 87 when a pitch says 'Hierarchy for Deterministic Multisig Wallets' without saying whether the rule is consensus, policy, or an interface. The number is the citation. The pitch is not.