bitcoin-dev

Should Graftroot be optional?

Should Graftroot be optional?

Original Postby Natanael

Posted on: May 24, 2018 09:44 UTC

In a recent email thread on the Bitcoin-dev mailing list, Gregory Maxwell raised a question about the usefulness of delegating transactions with the option to sign arbitrary transactions.

He argued that since the signer(s) could have signed an arbitrary transaction instead, being able to delegate is strictly less powerful. However, Wuille responded that this seems to not be a concern for typical P2SH uses, but in many cases, not all stakeholders in a transaction will hold one of the private keys required to sign. They would want a guarantee that the original script is followed as promised.While flags typically wouldn't have a meaningful effect for funds from non-P2SH addresses, the concern is providing a transparent guarantee that the original script is followed as promised. Moving funds to an address with new rules that you'd otherwise graftroot in isn't the concern; it's ensuring that the original script is followed. The ability to move funds comes after following the original script and is unrelated.