Bitcoin Forum

Hello, I wanted to make a quick summary on exactly what is the Sign/Verify feature on your wallet. Thus being a BTC core wallet, or any other wallet that includes this feature.

What is Signing an address

Signing a address is to prove that you own a specific address, this can be used for Over the Counter Trading, Airdrops, or just to prove that you own that address.

How do I Sign an address

1- Go to the Sign message... section in your wallet.
2- Input the address you want to prove ownership of, this is done in the address part.
3- Creating a message. This is a that is usually provided by the other party so that you can copy paste in this section, if not you can type a message.
4- Inputting your passphrase. This step is optional, depending if you have a passphrase or not (Important to copy this Message to a safe place).
5- Generating the signature. The signature is automatically generated by the wallet after inputting your address, and a message (Important to copy this Signature to a safe place).
6- You should get an output along the lines of Messaged signed.

What is Verifying an address

Verifying an address is used to prove that after one signed his address, this is in fact this specific individuals address, therefore you are verifying it.

How do I Verify an address

1- Go to the Verify message... section in your wallet.
2- Input the address you want that had been provided to you (most likely the person who is trying to prove ownership of this address), this is done in the address part.
3- Type the message that either you sent the Signer or that the Signer created.
4- Paste the Signature.
5- You should get an output along the lines of Message verified.

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Hope this helps anybody who is doing some sort of (OTC) Over the counter trading. Helps avoid getting scammed, big time!

Good point. Not many know this features.

You could mention in a short paragraph the idea of public key cryptography and why do you need the possibility to sign messages or your transactions.