Bitcoin Address

A simple protocol that allows you to mask your bitcoin address like an email (something like john@smith.com).

It's decentralized!

Disclaimer

This is not yet a production thing but just an initiation of an idea. Don't know if someone has done this yet.

Insipiration

Copy and pasting long bitcoin addresses is haaaaard.

Protocol

Just like how email works, the client parses the addresses separating the name and the domain.

john | @ | smith.com
name | x | domain

Now, the client sends a request (similar to how http works) to the domain sending the name as the body. Right now, it's in json.

{
  "name": "john",
  "address": "smith.com"
}

Once the request is acknowledged, the server responds with the bitcoin hash the domain maps to. Again, it's in json.

{
  "address": "mybitcoinhashthatshardtoremember"
}

Should a name not map to something, the address value will hold the value null.

Examples

Wrote a server and a client under the directory examples.

###Server

The server does the conversion of addresses into hashes.

$ python server.py -h
usage: server.py [-h] [--host HOST] [--port PORT]

Bitcoin Address Server

optional arguments:
  -h, --help   show this help message and exit
  --host HOST  Host the server binds to.
  --port PORT  Port the server binds to.

Running it...

$ python server.py --host 0.0.0.0 --port 41791

###Client

The client is a simple python binary that works like $ whois.

$ python client.py -h
usage: client.py [-h] [--port PORT] address

Bitcoin Address Client

positional arguments:
  address      Bitcoin address ala email: john@smith.com

optional arguments:
  -h, --help   show this help message and exit
  --port PORT  Port the server runs.

An example usage:

$ python client.py jesse@bit.jpanganiban.com
{"address": "mybitcoinhash"}

Question and Answer

###Why Did You Build This?

• Copy-and-pasting my bitcoin wallet address is hard.
• No need to pull-up phone open your bitcoin app to show your QR code. Just have to remember this and done!
• Vanity.

###Why JSON?

It's simple to use. Almost every programmer knows it. Should there be a better way to minimize the overhead of each transaction (ie, removal of braces), let's discuss it.

###Why ZeroMQ?

Again, it's simple to use. Request-Response support out of the box.

###Why Python?

Again, it's simple to use.

###Why is Your Code Shitty?

Help me improve it! :)