bitcoin-dev

BIP Proposal - Address Paste Improvement

BIP Proposal - Address Paste Improvement

Original Postby Andreas Schildbach

Posted on: November 7, 2018 21:28 UTC

It is suggested that copying Bitcoin addresses to the clipboard should be discouraged due to security risks.

Regardless of the operating system used, malware can monitor the clipboard and replace any address with its own. This could result in stolen Bitcoins if the user does not manually compare addresses. This type of malware has already been observed. Therefore, it is advised never to copy and paste Bitcoin addresses. On 07/11/2018 15.09, Adam Ficsor via bitcoin-dev wrote an email about a proposed BIP (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) regarding the improvement of address pasting. The aim of this proposal is to enhance the user experience while copying and pasting Bitcoin addresses. Some services have already implemented autopaste functions which are either annoying or not permissive enough if they completely replace the possibility of manually entering a Bitcoin address. The BIP proposal can be found at https://gist.github.com/nopara73/322dbd263a5c45267da87cffc36de6f6 and an implementation will soon follow in Wasabi Wallet.