Tim Ruffing announces the release of libsecp256k1 version 0.7.0, highlighting significant updates aimed at enhancing the library's stability, efficiency, and type safety, including the transition of constant context objects to constant pointers and the full support for CMake as a build system. This version also streamlines the API by deprecating old function aliases for private key operations, promoting a more consistent naming convention that benefits developers within the Bitcoin ecosystem. The comprehensive changelog is accessible for developers seeking detailed insights into the improvements (GitHub page).
Josh Doman explores the potential benefits and considerations of adding P256 support to Bitcoin, emphasizing the technology's widespread adoption across the internet and mobile devices which could significantly enhance user experience and security. The introduction of P256 could facilitate self-custody through secure enclaves, like those in Apple iCloud Keychain and Android Keystore, while also potentially lowering costs for collaborative multi-signatures, despite historical concerns regarding NIST's involvement. Technical adjustments, such as those proposed in BIP341 and the distinction between key types in Tapscript, could mitigate P256's slower validation speeds, underscoring the opportunity for improved onboarding and hot wallet security without compromising the use of secp256k1 for cold storage (source).
A recent study published in the Cryptology ePrint Archive by Tim Ruffing et al., examines the post-quantum security of Bitcoin's Taproot, suggesting that with script-path spending and under certain assumptions, it remains secure against quantum attacks. The research proposes a softfork upgrade path incorporating post-quantum signatures to enhance Bitcoin's scripting language, which could be implemented before the widespread advent of quantum computing to disable vulnerable Schnorr and ECDSA signatures, ensuring Bitcoin's long-term security (research paper).
A novel approach to Proof of Work (PoW), detailed in a groundbreaking paper shared by zawy, introduces a method to utilize global computational resources for matrix multiplication to "merge mine" a new blockchain coin. This Proof of Useful Work (PoUW) concept challenges traditional PoW models by suggesting a more efficient and secure consensus mechanism without the need for high energy consumption, potentially offering a sustainable and revolutionary alternative to Bitcoin's mining paradigm (new paper).
