Blockstream Buys Bitcoin Wallet to Boost Sidechains Development

Bitcoin infrastructure architect Blockstream has acquired wallet  provider GreenAddress in a move the startup says could impact the  development of its signature, still in-development sidechains solution. Following the acquisition, GreenAddress Wallet's team  of three developers will continue to work on privacy and security  bolstering features for the wallet as well as compatibility for  sidechains, a bitcoin infrastructure component that Blockstream has raised $76m in two investment rounds to engineer. In interview, former GreenAddress founder and CEO Lawrence Nahum, now  senior architect at Blockstream, said that the goal is to shape the  wallet into a something like a portal for sidechains, a technology meant  to enable a new wave of interoperable blockchains that could be anchored to the bitcoin blockchain. Nahum told CoinDesk: 

"Blockstream is not just going to need some node service  that provides some functionality, but it's also going to need an  interface, a wallet. It will provide an integrated solution for  Blockstream customers."

The move is perhaps not surprising, as the two teams have been working closely for two years. Launched in 2014, GreenAddress Wallet was early to support innovative  wallet features, such as deterministic wallets that allow for improved  key creation and multi-signature security. 

Sidechains compatibility

But, more than absorbing GreenAddress, the two companies plan to merge their technologies. Nahum explained that GreenAddress already supports Blockstream’s  sidechains alpha functionality, which doesn't appear to be publicly  supported by other wallets, and the plan is to further integrate the  two. One way for the wallet to integrate the technology is by supporting  Sidechain Elements, the open-source tool that allows developers to mix  and match features, such as Segregated Witness or new scripting opcodes  expanding bitcoin’s functionality, to create customizable sidechains. "Schnorr transactions and confidential transactions, these are all things we’re providing support for," Nahum said. Current sidechains in-progress include the alpha testnet and the first commercial sidechain, Liquid, geared toward enabling the faster movement of funds between exchanges. Incorporating the technology into the wallet could mean further  exploration of these interoperable blockchains for GreenAddress users,  with the wallet eventually supporting a wide array of assets and  innovations. 

Future plans

Looking into the future, the team hopes to continue working on other  privacy and security features, including support for smart contract  upgrades made to bitcoin, as well as updates to the core bitcoin code  such as checklocktimeverify and checksequenceverify. While bitcoin offers trustless transactions, these features offer "more trustless" transactions, according to Nahum. The team is also working on a multi-platform wallet library,  eventually to be open sourced, which will be available across platforms  and programming languages. Overall, Nahum thinks the new ownership will bode well for the wallet’s development. He concluded: 

"I couldn't wait for the acquisition. I think GreenAddress will flourish better, faster and more robustly than it could ever."

Source : Coindesk