The under is a direct excerpt of Marty’s Bent Issue #1181: “BIP21 is a no brainer.“ Sign up for the newsletter here.
At the second there is a large UX hurdle that exists for customers of various bitcoin pockets software program suppliers.
One of the extra illuminating talks on the Bitcoin Takeover occasion that was held on the Bitcoin Commons right here in Austin final Friday was a panel dialogue between Lisa Neigut (c-lightning, Blockstream), Rockstar Dev (Strike, which makes use of lnd), and Miles Suter (Cash App, which makes use of LDK) led by Matt Odell in regards to the challenges of the interoperability between totally different implementations and total UX when utilizing the Lightning Network. During the dialogue (which must be made public quickly) the panel turned to the subject of BIP21, a BIP that I used to be unaware of however am very enthusiastic about after coming to perceive it.
At the second there is a large UX hurdle that exists for customers of various bitcoin pockets software program suppliers. The UX round sending and receiving bitcoin transactions on-chain and through the Lightning Network. Some wallets are on-chain solely, some are lighting solely, and a few permit customers to use each however power you to manually shuffle between the 2 when sending and receiving. Enter BIP21, which goals to repair this UX hurdle by giving customers optionality when sending. BIP21 would allow QR codes that allow pockets suppliers to embrace each a lightning bill and an on-chain bitcoin pockets tackle in a single place.
What is wanted to push BIP21 ahead as a regular is for extra lightning community wallets to start supporting it. Right now, when a bitcoin person utilizing a BIP21 enabled pockets scans a QR code of a pockets that does not have BIP21 enabled they obtain an error code that may be complicated and leads to UX friction. If extra lightning community wallets allow BIP21 and permit customers who are solely sending transactions on-chain to be supplied with a fallback on-chain tackle it will carry an finish to this UX friction. The better part is that BIP21 is backwards suitable, so there is no manner through which it might disenfranchise the person within the coma who wakes up a decade from now and broadcasts a transaction from a pockets he hasn’t touched in a few years.
Beyond this, BIP21 permits customers the flexibility to make a aware resolution about whether or not they need to ship through the protocol layer or the lightning community. If carried out, this could eradicate the necessity for various on-chain and LN UI tabs and make the transacting course of a lot smoother between totally different wallets.
The first step towards realizing these advantages is making it so every pockets can learn BIP21 QR codes. From there, every undertaking can start to create experiences that permit customers to generate BIP21 cost codes. You should get huge assist for scanning earlier than it is sensible to get huge assist for producing these cost codes. Here’s to hoping pockets suppliers make this a precedence within the close to future.
