Doing something a little different today - I'm doing a pair of posts, one more general (this), one more technical (over in /r/dogecoindev once I've written this one).
Dogecoin Core 1.9 progress continues, although we're a bit slowed by other projects coming up in the middle. That's not the main thing I wanted to talk about today, however...
Wallets have got a lot of attention this week. We do need to do something here - the reference client is a huge thing to install, and a major hurdle for new users. Multidoge and the Android client (what are referred to as a simple payment verification or SPV clients) are a lot faster, but doesn't scale well to large transactions (which is why mining into it doesn't end well). There's also Doughwallet{:rel="nofollow"} but I don't have any iOS devices to test with, so can't really comment.
As has been raised, web wallets are an easy answer here - your money is then available wherever you are, and the software is handled by someone else. However, there's two important things here:
- If you don't have the keys, it's not a wallet, it's a bank.
- If there's a problem with the account, do you know who you'd try claiming money back from?
I'm interested to see what happens with multisig web wallets (e.g. where you hold one key, and the wallet company holds a key, and either of you can move funds using the keys you have, so if they're compromised/go offline you can still move your funds), but these aren't my preferred solution.
Right now, hardware wallets seem to be the best compromise available. The main options here are Ledger{:rel="nofollow"} and Trezor{:rel="nofollow"} . I'm told support for both is in the pipeline for Multibit HD, and should then be straightforward to adapt to Multidoge HD, and I've been working on the infrastructure behind Multidoge HD this weekend. The two devices have different advantages and disadvantages - Ledger is cheaper but needs a secure PC for initial setup, while Trezor is around 4 times the cost, but has no risks of key loss even if using a compromised PC for setup. Ledger is generally considered harder to get keys out of if someone gets to the actual hardware device, and there was a Trezor firmware update a few days ago to fix a problem with being able to retrieve keys if you can get hold of the device: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3213nc/all_trezor_users_should_update_their_firmware_for/
Right now, for Ledger you're stuck using their web application to actually make transactions, and I believe that's the default way of working with Trezor. This does mean some dependency on a service staying up, although at least keys are stored only on the device, so if either service goes down or is compromised, it's inconvenient rather than likely to result in loss of funds.
Lastly I'm moving into somewhere longer term on this week, with a little luck, which will give me more time (shorter commute, more quiet time). Hoping to make it to Coinscrum{:rel="nofollow"} on Thursday in London, but won't know for certain more or less until I make it to the train in time, or don't. If anyone else is in the area and wants to head over, though, it promises to be really interesting.
I need to get lunch, then will write a technical version of this post over on /r/dogecoindev for those who want to get into the details more.