LibraryMarkets2017Design paperCorpus record
Ethereum purpose allocation for Deterministic Wallets
ERC 600. Nick Johnson , Micah Zoltu.
ERC 600, Ethereum purpose allocation for Deterministic Wallets. A logical hierarchy for deterministic wallets based on BIP32, the purpose scheme defined in BIP43 and this proposed change to BIP43.
Status in the source: Final. A reading of the public specification, not a copy of it and not a certification.
Ethereum purpose allocation for Deterministic Wallets is worth reading for the rule it actually adds: A logical hierarchy for deterministic wallets based on BIP32, the purpose scheme defined in BIP43 and this proposed change to BIP43.
The five-minute read
The rule
A logical hierarchy for deterministic wallets based on BIP32, the purpose scheme defined in BIP43 and this proposed change to BIP43.
What was already failing
A token that each contract invents from scratch does not transfer, approve, or display in any other contract. The cost of a shared interface is that the interface's holes become everyone's holes.
What the number does not mean
The source marks this final. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it.
What a builder should be able to point at
An implementation either constrains BIP32, BIP43, UTXO or it is a different design.
One action, walked through
- Open ERC 600 and read the status line before the examples.
- Write down the rule in one sentence. A fair version of that sentence is: A logical hierarchy for deterministic wallets based on BIP32, the purpose scheme defined in BIP43 and this proposed change to BIP43.
- Name the object that changes: BIP32, BIP43, UTXO.
- 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 the text is allowed to settle
Ethereum Request for Comment 600 can settle the shape of Ethereum purpose allocation for Deterministic Wallets. It cannot settle whether a later client, a later fork, or a later wallet still does this.
What this page will not pretend
There is no benchmark, no adoption number, and no claim that the mechanism is safe outside the assumptions written in the source.
What has to be true
- You are implementing ERC 600 at the status the text itself states: Final.
- The object that has to change is BIP32, BIP43, UTXO. A neighbouring document with a similar name is not this one.
- The standard does not enforce royalties, identity, or a price. If the transfer function does not check it, the chain will not.
What happened after the paper
The source marks this final. 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
- Which function in Ethereum purpose allocation for Deterministic Wallets actually moves or approves value?
- What happens on a callback, a zero amount, or a contract recipient that rejects?
- Which names does the text commit to: BIP32, BIP43, UTXO?
Terms
- ERC 600
- The public text titled Ethereum purpose allocation for Deterministic Wallets.
- Final
- The document's own label for how finished the text is. It is not a market fact.
The problem the paper names
A token that each contract invents from scratch does not transfer, approve, or display in any other contract. The cost of a shared interface is that the interface's holes become everyone's holes.
What the design proposes
- A logical hierarchy for deterministic wallets based on BIP32, the purpose scheme defined in BIP43 and this proposed change to BIP43.
- Because Ethereum is based on account balances rather than UTXO, the hierarchy defined by BIP44 is poorly suited.
- As a result, several competing derivation path strategies have sprung up for deterministic wallets, resulting in inter-client incompatibility.
How the mechanism is specified
- Taken from the specification, the next constraint is: Because Ethereum is based on account balances rather than UTXO, the hierarchy defined by BIP44 is poorly suited.
- Locate BIP32, BIP43, UTXO in ERC 600 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
- An application standard is not consensus. A contract can ignore it and still be a valid account.
- The standard does not enforce royalties, identity, or a price. If the transfer function does not check it, the chain will not.
- The source marks this final. 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 ERC 600 when a pitch says 'Ethereum purpose allocation for Deterministic Wallets' without saying whether the rule is consensus, policy, or an interface. The number is the citation. The pitch is not.
This is Blockchain Lab's reading of a public design paper. It is not the paper, not a copy of it, and not an offer of tokens, equity, custody or a partnership. Later network behaviour can diverge from the text. Nothing here is investment, legal or technical advice.
Research status: Design paper. Last reviewed: 1 October 2026. This is a reading of a public paper, not investment, legal or security advice.
