summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/6a/2f594a0d26e1714a216f2724d1c072e9d21f7f
blob: a6b766a1e9131e5a055e6b18ea507026b2ce8592 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
Return-Path: <zachgrw@gmail.com>
Received: from smtp4.osuosl.org (smtp4.osuosl.org [IPv6:2605:bc80:3010::137])
 by lists.linuxfoundation.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 58ECFC000E
 for <bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org>;
 Mon,  2 Aug 2021 09:32:50 +0000 (UTC)
Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1])
 by smtp4.osuosl.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 47A49403D9
 for <bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org>;
 Mon,  2 Aug 2021 09:32:50 +0000 (UTC)
X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at osuosl.org
X-Spam-Flag: NO
X-Spam-Score: -2.098
X-Spam-Level: 
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.098 tagged_above=-999 required=5
 tests=[BAYES_00=-1.9, DKIM_SIGNED=0.1, DKIM_VALID=-0.1,
 DKIM_VALID_AU=-0.1, DKIM_VALID_EF=-0.1, FREEMAIL_FROM=0.001,
 HTML_MESSAGE=0.001, RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE=-0.0001, SPF_HELO_NONE=0.001,
 SPF_PASS=-0.001] autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no
Authentication-Results: smtp4.osuosl.org (amavisd-new);
 dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com
Received: from smtp4.osuosl.org ([127.0.0.1])
 by localhost (smtp4.osuosl.org [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024)
 with ESMTP id KAIVHlMOo_Gt
 for <bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org>;
 Mon,  2 Aug 2021 09:32:48 +0000 (UTC)
X-Greylist: whitelisted by SQLgrey-1.8.0
Received: from mail-io1-xd32.google.com (mail-io1-xd32.google.com
 [IPv6:2607:f8b0:4864:20::d32])
 by smtp4.osuosl.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id AFDB6403C3
 for <bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org>;
 Mon,  2 Aug 2021 09:32:48 +0000 (UTC)
Received: by mail-io1-xd32.google.com with SMTP id m13so19496738iol.7
 for <bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org>;
 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 02:32:48 -0700 (PDT)
DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20161025;
 h=mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date:message-id:subject:to
 :cc; bh=vqG1Fsl6diFhd2o8p5KRXRpYpGecisUhEdVYj0NBomM=;
 b=j4lyVtX0Vzzylj0cjc5YcV7ir7+zmHD3NHGBV7rpcn/5bvUCQBwed/kHW9MlSlPHSF
 4LwK8zR6Kumq+yvrH8de/RDjwnDmiMN2lvvwPOqa7YcerWiXynFEcGBbr63x8MUeeNGz
 Rlx2eQwzIZun8YNRJjBEpZ/W1am/mhBTEtt1QZtVqVbAFaLhKrfJpfiQ6FTz81sYnbfW
 SSU8mQi7LJOBu3Wiii6pDtpkcsVu1iIpPW8eH9LRP8CDMGjNHmQ1na4HaMJ5WQgpU93r
 GAVb7HnUoZeOIw4r8Owb/4iOH6IZc6FUbwaD7fiCkEHD6rcdLdaFvaWde3gJOR/wdAP7
 R6LA==
X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed;
 d=1e100.net; s=20161025;
 h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date
 :message-id:subject:to:cc;
 bh=vqG1Fsl6diFhd2o8p5KRXRpYpGecisUhEdVYj0NBomM=;
 b=sOPzkKQlMBOVA8ctqmnPTli/8uvVCE3mkwO6mGKyFbit4hN/o3ddaAjA/7tOjFdQ+k
 3kZlKDd22RtlMH0Cwc1FRSOdjZ94y/R4dRJPAj8Jj3Pb77B4x9vGn+mmrAtvT76BrEAz
 5/E7xkiCVhR4uc0riM9ZI4xxMP8ccKZfh6LK92MUPScAUASIESjGMYJ+2YOSNhNKZM+v
 6UOEVrynlRgoZBOX9AUkySga4vVpaOb7k6EYiGbkh/LepkyoTwVhDPAZfVTAARMNXBkE
 23Pdh4EeS+hfhFcVGCXFXmSYLjuuJOkKUXqkownRJZ5YzEUUNFCKiBXNmXEQ8abpH/Xa
 kyEw==
X-Gm-Message-State: AOAM5308AIH9vY7Tc86wCAq801AV8rW9s+pBbqBL82PcRNYumoFVfAjA
 M58Tx1mw8STOJsm5Y9mJtoSd3XaR+cWt76ynVbQ=
X-Google-Smtp-Source: ABdhPJzUpB4dcUSMIlz/7N9AtBRW/Lhu5mZNMZsZi6JN2RHFL3Md9qeGHYlMdqWTqTpFCtm8ilJ5a9latYr3QaI3Rf0=
X-Received: by 2002:a6b:b287:: with SMTP id b129mr517264iof.209.1627896767845; 
 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 02:32:47 -0700 (PDT)
MIME-Version: 1.0
References: <CAJ4-pEAETy7_vOez5H32mZLg9gRpRajvoBjZyBT_v=DEqdQJvQ@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <CAJ4-pEAETy7_vOez5H32mZLg9gRpRajvoBjZyBT_v=DEqdQJvQ@mail.gmail.com>
From: Zac Greenwood <zachgrw@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2021 11:32:36 +0200
Message-ID: <CAJ4-pEAxqvMc89xSp9NXXNwnpJ3NhMqE6p=dRbpYCAB3Gbb14g@mail.gmail.com>
To: Billy Tetrud <billy.tetrud@gmail.com>
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000009418aa05c89040a3"
X-Mailman-Approved-At: Mon, 02 Aug 2021 10:26:44 +0000
Cc: Bitcoin Protocol Discussion <bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org>
Subject: Re: [bitcoin-dev] Exploring: limiting transaction output amount as
 a function of total input value
X-BeenThere: bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15
Precedence: list
List-Id: Bitcoin Protocol Discussion <bitcoin-dev.lists.linuxfoundation.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/options/bitcoin-dev>, 
 <mailto:bitcoin-dev-request@lists.linuxfoundation.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-dev/>
List-Post: <mailto:bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org>
List-Help: <mailto:bitcoin-dev-request@lists.linuxfoundation.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/bitcoin-dev>, 
 <mailto:bitcoin-dev-request@lists.linuxfoundation.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 02 Aug 2021 09:32:50 -0000

--0000000000009418aa05c89040a3
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

[Note: I've moved your reply to the newly started thread]

Hi Billy,

Thank you for your kind and encouraging feedback.

I don't quite understand why you'd want to define a specific span of blocks
> for the rate limit. Why not just specify the size of the window (in blocks)
> to rate limit within, and the limit?


To enable more straightforward validation logic.

You mentioned change addresses, however, with the parameters you defined,
> there would be no way to connect together the change address with the
> original address, meaning they would have completely separate rate limits,
> which wouldn't work since the change output would ignore the previous rate
> limit.


The rate-limiting parameters must be re-specified for each rate-limited
input. So, a transaction that has a rate-limited input is only valid if its
output is itself rate-limited such that it does not violate the
rate-limiting constraints of its input.

In my thread-starter, I gave the below example of a rate-limited address a2
that serves as input for transaction t2:

a2: 99.8 sats at height 800100;
Rate-limit params: h0=800000, h1=800143, a=500k, a_remaining=300k;

Transaction t2:
Included at block height 800200
Spend: 400k + fees.
Rate-limiting params: h0=800144, h1=800287, a=500k, a_remaining=100k.

Note how transaction t2 re-specifies the rate-limiting parameters.
Validation must ensure that the re-specified parameters are within bounds,
i.e., do not allow more spending per epoch than the rate-limiting
parameters of its input address a2. Re-specifying the rate-limiting
parameters offers the flexibility to further restrict spending, or to
disable any additional spending within the current epoch by setting
a_remaining to zero.

Result:
Value at destination address: 400k sats;
Rate limiting params at destination address: none;
Value at change address a3: 99.4m sats;
Rate limiting params at change address a3: h0=800144, h1=800287, a=500k,
a_remaining=100k.

As a design principle I believe it makes sense if the system is able to
verify the validity of a transaction without having to consider any
transactions that precede its inputs. As a side-note, doing away with this
design principle would however enable more sophisticated rate-limiting
(such as rate-limiting per sliding window instead of rate-limiting per
epoch having a fixed start and end block), but while at the same time
reducing the size of per rate-limiting transaction (because it would enable
specifying the rate-limiting parameters more space-efficiently). To test
the waters and to keep things relatively simple, I chose not to go into
this enhanced form of rate-limiting.

I haven't gone into how to process a transaction having multiple
rate-limited inputs. The easiest way to handle this case is to not allow
any transaction having more than one rate-limited input. One could imagine
complex logic to handle transactions having multiple rate-limited inputs by
creating multiple rate-limited change addresses. However at first glance I
don't believe that the marginal added functionality would justify the
increased implementation complexity.

 I'd be interested in seeing you write a BIP for this.


Thank you, but sadly my understanding of Bitcoin is way too low to be able
to write a BIP and do the implementation. However I see tremendous value in
this functionality. Favorable feedback of the list regarding the usefulness
and the technical feasibility of rate-limiting functionality would of
course be an encouragement for me to descend further down the rabbit hole.

Zac


On Sun, Aug 1, 2021 at 10:09 AM Zac Greenwood <zachgrw@gmail.com> wrote:

> [Resubmitting to list with minor edits. My previous submission ended up
> inside an existing thread, apologies.]
>
> Hi list,
>
> I'd like to explore whether it is feasible to implement new scripting
> capabilities in Bitcoin that enable limiting the output amount of a
> transaction based on the total value of its inputs. In other words, to
> implement the ability to limit the maximum amount that can be sent from an
> address.
>
> Two use cases come to mind:
>
> UC1: enable a user to add additional protection their funds by
> rate-limiting the amount that they are allowed to send during a certain
> period (measured in blocks). A typical use case might be a user that
> intends to hodl their bitcoin, but still wishes to occasionally send small
> amounts. Rate-limiting avoids an attacker from sweeping all the users'
> funds in a single transaction, allowing the user to become aware of the
> theft and intervene to prevent further thefts.
>
> UC2: exchanges may wish to rate-limit addresses containing large amounts
> of bitcoin, adding warm- or hot-wallet functionality to a cold-storage
> address. This would enable an exchange to drastically reduce the number of
> times a cold wallet must be accessed with private keys that give access to
> the full amount.
>
> In a typical setup, I'd envision using multisig such that the user has two
> sets of private keys to their encumbered address (with a "set" of keys
> meaning "one or more" keys). One set of private keys allows only for
> sending with rate-limiting restrictions in place, and a second set of
> private keys allowing for sending any amount without rate-limiting,
> effectively overriding such restriction.
>
> The parameters that define in what way an output is rate-limited might be
> defined as follows:
>
> Param 1: a block height "h0" indicating the first block height of an epoch;
> Param 2: a block height "h1" indicating the last block height of an epoch;
> Param 3: an amount "a" in satoshi indicating the maximum amount that is
> allowed to be sent in any epoch;
> Param 4: an amount "a_remaining" (in satoshi) indicating the maximum
> amount that is allowed to be sent within the current epoch.
>
> For example, consider an input containing 100m sats (1 BTC) which has been
> rate-limited with parameters (h0, h1, a, a_remaining) of (800000, 800143,
> 500k, 500k). These parameters define that the address is rate-limited to
> sending a maximum of 500k sats in the current epoch that starts at block
> height 800000 and ends at height 800143 (or about one day ignoring block
> time variance) and that the full amount of 500k is still sendable. These
> rate-limiting parameters ensure that it takes at minimum 100m / 500k = 200
> transactions and 200 x 144 blocks or about 200 days to spend the full 100m
> sats. As noted earlier, in a typical setup a user should retain the option
> to transact the entire amount using a second (set of) private key(s).
>
> For rate-limiting to work, any change output created by a transaction from
> a rate-limited address must itself be rate-limited as well. For instance,
> expanding on the above example, assume that the user spends 200k sats from
> a rate-limited address a1 containing 100m sats:
>
> Start situation:
> At block height 800000: rate-limited address a1 is created;
> Value of a1: 100.0m sats;
> Rate limiting params of a1: h0=800000, h1=800143, a=500k, a_remaining=500k;
>
> Transaction t1:
> Included at block height 800100;
> Spend: 200k + fee;
> Rate limiting params: h0=800000, h1=800143, a=500k, a_remaining=300k.
>
> Result:
> Value at destination address: 200k sats;
> Rate limiting params at destination address: none;
> Value at change address a2: 99.8m sats;
> Rate limiting params at change address a2: h0=800000, h1=800143, a=500k,
> a_remaining=300k.
>
> In order to properly enforce rate limiting, the change address must be
> rate-limited such that the original rate limit of 500k sats per 144 blocks
> cannot be exceeded. In this example, the change address a2 were given the
> same rate limiting parameters as the transaction that served as its input.
> As a result, from block 800100 up until and including block 800143, a
> maximum amount of 300k sats is allowed to be spent from the change address.
>
> Example continued:
> a2: 99.8 sats at height 800100;
> Rate-limit params: h0=800000, h1=800143, a=500k, a_remaining=300k;
>
> Transaction t2:
> Included at block height 800200
> Spend: 400k + fees.
> Rate-limiting params: h0=800144, h1=800287, a=500k, a_remaining=100k.
>
> Result:
> Value at destination address: 400k sats;
> Rate limiting params at destination address: none;
> Value at change address a3: 99.4m sats;
> Rate limiting params at change address a3: h0=800144, h1=800287, a=500k,
> a_remaining=100k.
>
> Transaction t2 is allowed because it falls within the next epoch (running
> from 800144 to 800287) so a spend of 400k does not violate the constraint
> of 500k per epoch.
>
> As could be seen, the rate limiting parameters are part of the transaction
> and chosen by the user (or their wallet). This means that the parameters
> must be validated to ensure that they do not violate the intended
> constraints.
>
> For instance, this transaction should not be allowed:
> a2: 99.8 sats at height 800100;
> Rate-limit params of a2: h0=800000, h1=800143, a=500k, a_remaining=300k;
>
> Transaction t2a:
> Included at block height 800200;
> Spend: 400k + fees;
> Rate-limit params: h0=800124, h1=800267, a=500k, a_remaining=100k.
>
> This transaction t2a attempts to shift the epoch forward by 20 blocks such
> that it starts at 800124 instead of 800144. Shifting the epoch forward like
> this must not be allowed because it enables spending more that the rate
> limit allows, which is 500k in any epoch of 144 blocks. It would enable
> overspending:
>
> t1: spend 200k at 800100 (epoch 1: total: 200k);
> t2a: spend 400k at 800200 (epoch 2: total: 400k);
> t3a: spend 100k at 800201 (epoch 2: total: 500k);
> t4a: spend 500k at 800268 (epoch 2: total: 1000k, overspending for epoch
> 2).
>
> Specifying the rate-limiting parameters explicitly at every transaction
> allows the user to tighten the spending limit by setting tighter limits or
> for instance by setting a_remainder to 0 if they wish to enforce not
> spending more during an epoch. A second advantage of explicitly specifying
> the four rate-limiting parameters with each transaction is that it allows
> the system to fully validate the transaction without having to consider any
> previous transactions within an epoch.
>
> I will stop here because I would like to gauge interest in this idea first
> before continuing work on other aspects. Two main pieces of work jump to
> mind:
>
> Define all validations;
> Describe aggregate behaviour of multiple (rate-limited) inputs, proof that
> two rate-limited addresses cannot spend more than the sum of their
> individual limits.
>
> Zac
>

--0000000000009418aa05c89040a3
Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<div dir=3D"ltr">[Note: I&#39;ve moved your reply to the newly started thre=
ad]<div><br></div><div>Hi Billy,<div><br></div><div>Thank you for your kind=
 and encouraging feedback.</div><div><br></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_q=
uote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,2=
04);padding-left:1ex">I don&#39;t quite understand why you&#39;d want to de=
fine a specific span of blocks for the rate limit. Why not just specify the=
 size of the window (in blocks) to rate limit within, and the limit?</block=
quote><div><br></div><div>To enable more straightforward validation logic.<=
/div><div><br></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0=
px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">You m=
entioned change addresses, however, with the parameters you defined, there =
would be no way to connect together the change address with the original ad=
dress, meaning they would have completely separate rate limits, which would=
n&#39;t work since the change output would ignore the previous rate limit.<=
/blockquote><div><br></div><div>The rate-limiting parameters must be re-spe=
cified for each rate-limited input. So, a transaction that has a rate-limit=
ed input is only valid if its output is itself rate-limited such that it do=
es not violate the rate-limiting constraints of its input.</div><div><br></=
div><div>In my thread-starter, I gave the below example of a rate-limited a=
ddress a2 that serves as input for transaction t2:</div><div><br></div><div=
><div>a2: 99.8 sats at height=C2=A0800100;</div><div>Rate-limit params: h0=
=3D800000, h1=3D800143, a=3D500k, a_remaining=3D300k;</div><div><br></div><=
div>Transaction t2:</div><div>Included at block height 800200</div><div>Spe=
nd: 400k=C2=A0+ fees.</div><div>Rate-limiting params: h0=3D800144, h1=3D800=
287, a=3D500k, a_remaining=3D100k.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Note how tr=
ansaction t2 re-specifies the rate-limiting parameters. Validation must ens=
ure that the re-specified parameters are within bounds, i.e., do not allow =
more spending per epoch than the rate-limiting parameters of its input addr=
ess a2. Re-specifying the rate-limiting parameters offers the flexibility t=
o further restrict spending, or to disable any additional spending within t=
he current epoch by setting a_remaining to zero.</div><div><br></div><div><=
div>Result:</div><div>Value at destination address: 400k sats;</div><div>Ra=
te limiting params at destination address: none;</div><div>Value at change =
address a3: 99.4m sats;</div><div>Rate limiting params at change address a3=
: h0=3D800144, h1=3D800287, a=3D500k, a_remaining=3D100k.</div></div></div>=
<div><br></div><div>As a design principle I believe it makes sense if the s=
ystem is able to verify the validity of a transaction without having to con=
sider any transactions that precede its inputs. As a side-note, doing away =
with this design principle would however enable more sophisticated rate-lim=
iting (such as rate-limiting per sliding window instead of rate-limiting pe=
r epoch having a fixed start and end block), but while at the same time red=
ucing the size of per rate-limiting transaction (because it would enable sp=
ecifying the rate-limiting parameters more space-efficiently). To test the =
waters and to keep things relatively simple, I chose not to go into this en=
hanced form of rate-limiting.</div><div><br></div><div>I haven&#39;t gone i=
nto how to process a transaction having multiple rate-limited inputs. The e=
asiest way to handle this case is to not allow any transaction having more =
than one rate-limited input. One could imagine complex logic to handle tran=
sactions having multiple rate-limited inputs by creating multiple rate-limi=
ted change addresses. However at first glance I don&#39;t believe that the =
marginal added functionality would justify the increased implementation com=
plexity.</div><div><br></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"mar=
gin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1=
ex">=C2=A0I&#39;d be interested in seeing you write a BIP for this.</blockq=
uote><div><br></div><div>Thank you, but sadly my understanding of Bitcoin i=
s way too low to be able to write a BIP and do the implementation. However =
I see tremendous value in this functionality. Favorable feedback of the lis=
t regarding the usefulness and the technical feasibility of rate-limiting f=
unctionality would of course be an encouragement for me to descend further =
down the rabbit hole.</div><div><br></div><div>Zac</div></div><div><br></di=
v></div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr=
">On Sun, Aug 1, 2021 at 10:09 AM Zac Greenwood &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:zachg=
rw@gmail.com">zachgrw@gmail.com</a>&gt; wrote:<br></div><blockquote class=
=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rg=
b(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div>[Resubmitting to lis=
t with minor edits. My previous submission ended up inside an existing thre=
ad, apologies.]</div><div><br></div><div>Hi list,</div><div><br></div><div>=
I&#39;d like to explore whether it is feasible to implement new scripting c=
apabilities in Bitcoin that enable limiting the output amount of a transact=
ion based on the total value of its inputs. In other words, to implement th=
e ability to limit the maximum amount that can be sent from an address.</di=
v><div><br></div><div>Two use cases come to mind:</div><div><br></div><div>=
UC1: enable a user to add additional protection their funds by rate-limitin=
g the amount that they are allowed to send during a certain period (measure=
d in blocks). A typical use case might be a user that intends to hodl their=
 bitcoin, but still wishes to occasionally send small amounts. Rate-limitin=
g avoids an attacker from sweeping all the users&#39; funds in a single tra=
nsaction, allowing the user to become aware of the theft and intervene to p=
revent further thefts.</div><div><br></div><div>UC2: exchanges may wish to =
rate-limit addresses containing large amounts of bitcoin, adding warm- or h=
ot-wallet functionality to a cold-storage address. This would enable an exc=
hange to drastically reduce the number of times a cold wallet must be acces=
sed with private keys that give access to the full amount.</div><div><br></=
div><div>In a typical setup, I&#39;d envision using multisig such that the =
user has two sets of private keys to their encumbered address (with a &quot=
;set&quot; of keys meaning &quot;one or more&quot; keys). One set of privat=
e keys allows only for sending with rate-limiting restrictions in place, an=
d a second set of private keys allowing for sending any amount without rate=
-limiting, effectively overriding such restriction.</div><div><br></div><di=
v>The parameters that define in what way an output is rate-limited might be=
 defined as follows:</div><div><br></div><div>Param 1: a block height &quot=
;h0&quot; indicating the first block height of an epoch;</div><div><div>Par=
am 2: a block height &quot;h1&quot; indicating the last block height of an =
epoch;</div><div>Param 3: an amount &quot;a&quot; in satoshi indicating the=
 maximum amount that is allowed to be sent in any epoch;<br></div><div>Para=
m 4: an amount &quot;a_remaining&quot; (in satoshi) indicating the maximum =
amount that is allowed to be sent within the current epoch.</div></div><div=
><br></div><div>For example, consider an input containing 100m sats (1 BTC)=
 which has been rate-limited with parameters (h0, h1, a, a_remaining) of (8=
00000, 800143, 500k, 500k). These parameters define that the address is rat=
e-limited to sending a maximum of 500k sats in the current epoch that start=
s at block height 800000 and ends at height 800143 (or about one day ignori=
ng block time variance) and that the full amount of 500k is still sendable.=
 These rate-limiting parameters ensure that it takes at minimum 100m / 500k=
 =3D 200 transactions and 200 x 144 blocks or about 200 days to spend the f=
ull 100m sats. As noted earlier, in a typical setup a user should retain th=
e option to transact the entire amount using a second (set of) private key(=
s).</div><div><br></div><div>For rate-limiting to work, any change output c=
reated by a transaction from a rate-limited address must itself be rate-lim=
ited as well. For instance, expanding on the above example, assume that the=
 user spends 200k sats from a rate-limited address a1 containing 100m sats:=
</div><div><br></div><div>Start situation:</div><div>At block height 800000=
: rate-limited address a1 is created;</div><div>Value of a1: 100.0m sats;</=
div><div>Rate limiting params of a1: h0=3D800000, h1=3D800143, a=3D500k, a_=
remaining=3D500k;</div><div><br></div><div>Transaction t1:</div><div>Includ=
ed at block height 800100;</div><div>Spend: 200k + fee;</div><div>Rate limi=
ting params: h0=3D800000, h1=3D800143, a=3D500k, a_remaining=3D300k.</div><=
div><br></div><div>Result:</div><div>Value at destination address: 200k sat=
s;</div><div>Rate limiting params at destination address: none;</div><div>V=
alue at change address a2: 99.8m sats;</div><div>Rate limiting params at ch=
ange address a2: h0=3D800000, h1=3D800143, a=3D500k, a_remaining=3D300k.</d=
iv><div><br></div><div>In order to properly enforce rate limiting, the chan=
ge address must be rate-limited such that the original rate limit of 500k s=
ats per 144 blocks cannot be exceeded. In this example, the change address =
a2 were given the same rate limiting parameters as the transaction that ser=
ved as its input. As a result, from block 800100 up until and including blo=
ck 800143, a maximum amount of 300k sats is allowed to be spent from the ch=
ange address.</div><div><br></div><div>Example continued:</div><div>a2: 99.=
8 sats at height=C2=A0800100;</div><div>Rate-limit params: h0=3D800000, h1=
=3D800143, a=3D500k, a_remaining=3D300k;</div><div><br></div><div>Transacti=
on t2:</div><div>Included at block height 800200</div><div>Spend: 400k=C2=
=A0+ fees.</div><div>Rate-limiting params: h0=3D800144, h1=3D800287, a=3D50=
0k, a_remaining=3D100k.<br></div><div><br></div><div><div>Result:</div><div=
>Value at destination address: 400k sats;</div><div>Rate limiting params at=
 destination address: none;</div><div>Value at change address a3: 99.4m sat=
s;</div><div>Rate limiting params at change address a3: h0=3D800144, h1=3D8=
00287, a=3D500k, a_remaining=3D100k.</div><div><br></div><div>Transaction t=
2 is allowed because it falls within the next epoch (running from 800144 to=
 800287) so a spend of 400k does not violate the constraint of 500k per epo=
ch.</div><div><br></div><div>As could be seen, the rate limiting parameters=
 are part of the transaction and chosen by the user (or their wallet). This=
 means that the parameters must be validated to ensure that they do not vio=
late the intended constraints.</div><div><br></div><div>For instance, this =
transaction should not be allowed:</div><div><div>a2: 99.8 sats at height=
=C2=A0800100;</div><div>Rate-limit params of a2: h0=3D800000, h1=3D800143, =
a=3D500k, a_remaining=3D300k;</div><div><br></div><div>Transaction t2a:</di=
v><div>Included at block height 800200;</div><div>Spend: 400k=C2=A0+ fees;<=
/div><div><div>Rate-limit params: h0=3D800124, h1=3D800267, a=3D500k, a_rem=
aining=3D100k.</div><div><br></div></div><div>This transaction t2a attempts=
 to shift the epoch forward by 20 blocks such that it starts at 800124 inst=
ead of 800144. Shifting the epoch forward like this must not be allowed bec=
ause it enables spending more that the rate limit allows, which is 500k in =
any epoch of 144 blocks. It would enable overspending:</div></div><div><br>=
</div><div>t1: spend 200k at 800100 (epoch 1: total: 200k);</div><div>t2a: =
spend 400k at 800200 (epoch 2: total: 400k);</div><div>t3a: spend 100k at 8=
00201 (epoch 2: total: 500k);</div><div>t4a: spend 500k at 800268 (epoch 2:=
 total: 1000k, overspending for epoch 2).</div><div><br></div><div>Specifyi=
ng the rate-limiting parameters explicitly at every transaction allows the =
user to tighten the spending limit by setting tighter limits or for instanc=
e by setting a_remainder to 0 if they wish to enforce not spending more dur=
ing an epoch. A second advantage of explicitly specifying the four rate-lim=
iting parameters with each transaction is that it allows the system to full=
y validate the transaction without having to consider any previous transact=
ions within an epoch.</div><div><br></div><div>I will stop here because I w=
ould like to gauge interest in this idea first before continuing work on ot=
her aspects. Two main pieces of work jump to mind:</div><div><br></div><div=
>Define all validations;</div><div>Describe aggregate behaviour of multiple=
 (rate-limited) inputs, proof that two rate-limited addresses cannot spend =
more than the sum of their individual limits.</div><font color=3D"#888888">=
<div><br></div><div>Zac</div></font></div></div>
</blockquote></div>

--0000000000009418aa05c89040a3--