AWARDED [BOUNTY] split key wallet escrow - 1 BTC

[qwk]

One of the reasons why I don't like to do escrow has always been that I don't want to hold the funds of someone else.
So, I had the idea of making that unnecessary for an escrower.

I'd like to offer a bounty of 1 BTC for a developer who will make a nice, clean software that creates a split 2-of-3-wallet and directly emails each one of the three keys to the email-adresses of the buyer, seller and escrower.

In the end, no single one of the involved parties will have access to the funds in that wallet, but whenever two of the three parties agree, they will be able to sweep the contents. If it's extendable to, for example, 3-of-5, that could even make a "voting" escrow team possible.

That will greatly reduce the amount of trust needed in an escrower.

I would like to see a software that may be installed as some kind of web service, where you would (unfortunately) have to trust the web site's owner again, but for the moment, I just can't think of a better solution.
I'm also open to any suggestion for improving this idea.

My bounty will be awarded solely on my discretion, I will decide whether or not I like your software, and whether or not I want to award it.

Obviously, it has to be full open source under a free license.

As a starting point, you might want to take a look at:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=149820.0


Edit: this bounty has been claimed. Fulfillment on 2013-11-27 at 1 BTC = $1000
https://blockchain.info/de/tx/5b445f6126be4e0aa4d284ee7f910ca9f46c2b3885b6e10553ba5971709d1371

https://github.com/knowitnothing/webescrow_nm

[r3wt]

cool idea. bounty is too cheap

[jackjack]

One of the reasons why I don't like to do escrow has always been that I don't want to hold the funds of someone else.
So, I had the idea of making that unnecessary for an escrower.

I'd like to offer a bounty of 1 BTC for a developer who will make a nice, clean software that creates a split 2-of-3-wallet and directly emails each one of the three keys to the email-adresses of the buyer, seller and escrower.

In the end, no single one of the involved parties will have access to the funds in that wallet, but whenever two of the three parties agree, they will be able to sweep the contents. If it's extendable to, for example, 3-of-5, that could even make a "voting" escrow team possible.

That will greatly reduce the amount of trust needed in an escrower.

I would like to see a software that may be installed as some kind of web service, where you would (unfortunately) have to trust the web site's owner again, but for the moment, I just can't think of a better solution.
I'm also open to any suggestion for improving this idea.

My bounty will be awarded solely on my discretion, I will decide whether or not I like your software, and whether or not I want to award it.

Obviously, it has to be full open source under a free license.

I can do it and I'm kinda interested in doing it

As a starting point, you might want to take a look at:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=149820.0

Nope, if I understand your proposal correctly it's not the same thing.

where you would (unfortunately) have to trust the web site's owner again

I think this can be avoided

[Kluge]

I'm curious why you'd want that over casascius' utility. It's fairly easy to use, so long as all parties are willing to try it, and there's much less trust involved.

[jackjack]

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=195168.0

[qwk]

I'm curious why you'd want that over casascius' utility. It's fairly easy to use, so long as all parties are willing to try it, and there's much less trust involved.

Mainly for extendability, I'd like to go in the direction of 3-of-5 later on. Also, as far as I understand casascius' approach, it requires a lengthy process chain with sending invitations, accepting, sending on, etc. That's probably quite a hassle if all you want is a one-of-escrow for a smaller transaction.
Also, from a psychological point of view, a lengthy, complicated process does not inspire confidence.

Technically, though, the casascius tool is much more secure than what I'm looking for.

[Kluge]

I'm curious why you'd want that over casascius' utility. It's fairly easy to use, so long as all parties are willing to try it, and there's much less trust involved.

Mainly for extendability, I'd like to go in the direction of 3-of-5 later on. Also, as far as I understand casascius' approach, it requires a lengthy process chain with sending invitations, accepting, sending on, etc. That's probably quite a hassle if all you want is a one-of-escrow for a smaller transaction.
Also, from a psychological point of view, a lengthy, complicated process does not inspire confidence.

Technically, though, the casascius tool is much more secure than what I'm looking for.

Aww, it's not that lengthy. Escrow generates two codes - one for buyer, one for seller. Seller uses code from escrow to generate another code ["SellerCode"] and the BTC address. SellerCode is sent to buyer, which he combines with his own escrow code to verify the BTC address. From there, it works like normal escrow, except buyer releases a code to seller instead of telling escrow to release funds (to redeem, seller combines the two escrow codes and the "SellerCode" in the utility for privkey).

Oh, well. I'm not very ambitious anymore, I guess. I hear you. 

[qwk]

I'm curious why you'd want that over casascius' utility. It's fairly easy to use, so long as all parties are willing to try it, and there's much less trust involved.

Mainly for extendability, I'd like to go in the direction of 3-of-5 later on. Also, as far as I understand casascius' approach, it requires a lengthy process chain with sending invitations, accepting, sending on, etc. That's probably quite a hassle if all you want is a one-of-escrow for a smaller transaction.
Also, from a psychological point of view, a lengthy, complicated process does not inspire confidence.

Technically, though, the casascius tool is much more secure than what I'm looking for.

Aww, it's not that lengthy. Escrow generates two codes - one for buyer, one for seller. Seller uses code from escrow to generate another code ["SellerCode"] and the BTC address. SellerCode is sent to buyer, which he combines with his own escrow code to verify the BTC address. From there, it works like normal escrow, except buyer releases a code to seller instead of telling escrow to release funds (to redeem, seller combines the two escrow codes and the "SellerCode" in the utility for privkey).

Oh, well. I'm not very ambitious anymore, I guess. I hear you. 

I understand you very well 

See, the above process even reads lengthy and tiresome. It also requires you to "install" extra software. Just imagine, you're a noob trying to buy something and the seller proposes to install software from some strange guy who calls himself casascius and you'll have to work some magic on some strange alphanumeric codes. Does that inspire confidence?

I've always said that the majority of people will use bitcoin over web services of some kind. That's just the way it is. They're used to entrusting google with their email, facebook with their family photo album, paypal with their money, why would they start using "real" software for something like bitcoin? 

[qwk]

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=195168.0

That covers multisig, not really what I have in mind.

I've chosen m-of-n-wallets for a reason. I think they are the easier concept to grasp for the majority of users, and that might just be most important for adoption.

[qwk]

cool idea. bounty is too cheap

Feel free to chip in 
I'm not buying a software here, so 1 BTC is all it's worth to me.

I don't even usually do escrow, just get asked from time to time.

[r3wt]

visit http://coinbit.tk and create a vanity address, or atleast read their explanation. sheds some light on how easy this could be made http://coinbit.tk/about.html. take note of their split key process where part of the key is given to you and the rest is sent to the server once the form is submitted. this might be something you are atleast partially interested in. a good starting point maybe. just my .02(thought i'm quiet out of depth here honestly. hope that helps)

[qwk]

just a little

[netrikare]

Why split the wallet? Split just the private key used to generate the pay-to address.

edit: eeh i've just read the thread title

[413j0]

maybe oversimplifying things, but since you want just a moderate lvl of security, but ease off use just make a small app that generates the key on a trusted server, then encrypts it with symmetrical encryption, send the bitcoin address, secure delete it and then distribute the encrypted key along with a portion off the key so than whenever n out of m of the recipients join their parts there's at least one full copy off the symmetrical key.
and another app that receives such parts and outputs the bitcoin key.

that way you just have to trust the server in which the apps reside and generating the key is only a matter off imputing parameters of n, m, and delivery method for each member's parts and data.

and receiving the key will be a matter of imputing one copy of anyone encrypted data, the minimum amount off decryption fragments and where to deliver the key

and that way as long as the same code is running you don't even need to use the same server for getting the key back (although both will have to be trusted)

edit: after goggling i realized my solution was already posted somewhere else, along with another great one:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1719376/how-to-encrypt-something-so-that-can-be-decrypted-using-any-two-of-three-keys
the checksum one is great for your intention in my opinion, along with the best rated one (incredibly similar to mine)

sorry for the edit, but i rushed to post

[jeezy]

https://blockchain.info/wallet/escrow

[dieselmeister]

cool idea. bounty is too cheap

Feel free to chip in 
I'm not buying a software here, so 1 BTC is all it's worth to me.

I don't even usually do escrow, just get asked from time to time.

okay, first things first:

1. your idea look great

2. have an idea for a software and want someone to develope it for 130 €
3. you want that the software is free to use and open source
4. you decide which program is good to earn the bounty, but maybe using all of them.

but you don't want to buy a software. You want do donate for a developer 130 € who develops this program in days or weeks of work.

okay, my opinion:

If you want something for someone, who might work for this a couple of days or weeks of manpower, you ususally pay for it.
If you want, that the result is open source and free to use for everybody, than it's your decision, but you pay usually for the time of the developer, because you get all the right of the result, if you pay enough.

if you find someone, who do this, great. But you won't find any professional, who do it for living. (the focus is on "do it for living")

[qwk]

If you want something for someone, who might work for this a couple of days or weeks of manpower, you ususally pay for it.
If you want, that the result is open source and free to use for everybody, than it's your decision, but you pay usually for the time of the developer, because you get all the right of the result, if you pay enough.
if you find someone, who do this, great. But you won't find any professional, who do it for living. (the focus is on "do it for living")

Well, actually, I'm looking for someone who is already working on something like this and maybe my bounty can give him a little push in the right direction.
I can imagine e.g. the developer of bitaddress to already have this on his future feature list, and this is no more than a little incentive to make it happen a little sooner and maybe a little more the way I like it.

If no one takes the challenge, well, I guess we'll just have to wait until 1 BTC is attractive enough to fund a months worth of software development, because I'll keep the bounty up, no matter how much that single bitcoin is worth

[dieselmeister]

If no one takes the challenge, well, I guess we'll just have to wait until 1 BTC is attractive enough to fund a months worth of software development, because I'll keep the bounty up, no matter how much that single bitcoin is worth

lol  or so ...

[qwk]

Involving a trusted server seems more problematic than just trusting an arbitrator. What would you think of a python minimal-trust escrow management utility fitting this design doc: https://github.com/kazcw/trustlescrow/blob/master/README.md

I'm actually concerned about the workflow, so maybe my request is a little unclear.
I might consider a solution that does not include a web server, I might even prefer it.
It may also be based on multisig.
But, and that's the important part, the workflow should be:

1. escrow sends a key to buyer & seller, as well as a payment address to the buyer
2. buyer sends money to that address
3. no one (not even escrow) is able to access funds on the payment address without one other person
4. a) ideally, buyer & seller agree and seller may claim the funds without needing escrow
4. b) escrow may take sides and help one of them to claim the funds

Also, a definitive requirement will be that at least the buyer (who might be a complete newb) does not need to understand anything like multisig, is not required to install software or do anything more complicated than sending payments to an address and keeping his part of the key (and possibly sending that by email to someone else when everything is settled).

The reason is just that right now a complete newb has no other chance than either
a) trust the seller
b) trust an escrow person
c) learn (and we all know that's what they fear most )

Another problem with "traditional" escrow that shall be solved by this approach is unavailability of the escrow person (e.g. on vacation, dead, amnesic).


Does that software solve the problems above?

[jambola2]

One of my friends had suggested an automated service.
It would send each of you a key and keep a key.
In case of dispute, it would ring the operator, if not , there is not human interaction needed.