[Pkg-bitcoin-devel] Bug#856577: RFP: python-bip32utils -- Utilities for generating Bitcoin Hierarchical Deterministic Wallet addresses using BIP0032

[Carlo Stemberger]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist

* Package name    : python-bip32utils
  Version         : git
  Upstream Author : Pavol Rusnak <stick at gk2.sk>
* URL             : https://github.com/prusnak/bip32utils
* License         : MIT
  Programming Lang: Python
  Description     : Utilities for generating Bitcoin Hierarchical Deterministic Wallet addresses using BIP0032

The bip32utils library is a pure Python implementation of Bitcoin hierarchical
deterministic wallet ("HD Wallet") ECDSA key generation as specified in BIP0032
(Bitcoin Improvement Proposal #0032).

Deterministic ECDSA key generation allows creating a sequence of Bitcoin private
and public ECDSA keys from an initial seed and a hierarchical set of indices. A
number of benefits follow:

* An entire wallet can be backed up once by storing the wallet seed or master
  extended private key, and all future addresses in the wallet can be restored
  from it.
* The creation of public and private ECDSA keys may be separated from each
  other. That is, it is possible to create only the public ECDSA key half (and
  receiving address) of an ECDSA key pair, without the ability to create the
  private half. Thus, one can create receiving addresses on a public facing
  system that if compromised would not give the attacker the ability to spend
  bitcoin received at those addresses. A separate, offline machine can generate
  the corresponding private ECDSA keys and sign transactions.
* Public and private ECDSA keys may be created in a hierarchy, and control over
  or visibility of portions of the hierarchy may be delegated to third parties.
  This has uses for auditing, for separating ECDSA key sequences into different
  logical groups or accounts, and for giving 3rd parties the ability to create
  spending transactions without first getting a receiving address in advance.