{"id":13775,"date":"2026-09-27T15:26:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T15:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13775"},"modified":"2026-09-27T15:26:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T15:26:40","slug":"new-bitcoin-proposal-rescues-locked-multisig-wallets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13775","title":{"rendered":"New Bitcoin proposal rescues locked multisig wallets"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bitcoin’s BIP138 wallet-backup proposal was merged into the Bitcoin Improvement Proposals repository on Sept. 21, but the specification remains Draft. It aims to preserve information that a seed phrase may not restore in a complex wallet. The tradeoff is that a third party could read that information if it already holds an eligible extended public key, or xpub, and obtains a copy of the encrypted backup.<\/p>\n

A multisignature wallet requires more than one signer. Its descriptor records the public keys and spending rules that tell wallet software how to reconstruct the account and find its coins. A seed phrase can regenerate one signer’s private keys, but losing the descriptor can still leave a multisig or miniscript script impossible to reconstruct from that seed alone.<\/p>\n

The proposal describes another failure: a wallet designed to survive the loss of one seed may also lose that signer’s public key. The remaining signers can then lack a piece of the script needed to recover the coins. These are risks for wallets whose spending setup depends on information beyond a seed, not a claim that every Bitcoin wallet needs this backup.<\/p>\n

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Related Reading<\/span><\/p>\n

A flaw in Coldcard seed generation lets attackers recreate private keys from the press of a button<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

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BIP138’s answer is an encrypted file holding descriptors, wallet policies or other non-seed metadata. Private key material must be removed before encryption. A holder of an eligible xpub from the backed-up wallet can decrypt a copy without the wallet’s seed. That reveals public keys and script structure needed for recovery, while the xpub alone does not give the holder the private keys required to sign.<\/p>\n

The draft sets limits on who can decrypt. Public keys that appear directly in a script, and xpub roots that could be exposed by spending, are excluded as recovery keys. If a cosigner’s key is excluded, that person cannot use it to open the file. Those limits keep an on-chain public key from becoming a key to the off-chain backup.<\/p>\n