Threshold ECDSA Signatures

Roadmap
167

Progress update

We are nearing completion of the feature for a Beta launch. I would assess that we are currently around 90% - 95% complete for the Chromium / Beta launch.

The plan for the release of the Bitcoin integration feature incl. t-ECDSA is as follows:

  • Chromium (Beta) release in some weeks, target is late June: functionally complete implementation
    • API for Bitcoin testnet Integration available on IC mainnet for public consumption
    • Threshold ECDSA deployment with a test key that will be deleted after a Beta phase available on IC mainnet for public consumption
    • Documentation, videos, and a sample project on how to use the feature
  • GA (general availability) release targeted at ~1-2+ months after Chromium: production-ready implementation
    • API for Bitcoin mainnet Integration available on IC mainnet for public consumption
    • Threshold ECDSA deployment with the production key that will be hosted on two large subnets on IC mainnet for public consumption
    • ckBTC canister

The Chromium (Beta) release will allow the community to build canisters based on the Bitcoin and threshold ECDSA APIs, i.e., create fully-functional integrations with Bitcoin. The GA release provides fixes towards production readiness, e.g., in the areas of performance, and enables Bitcoin mainnet and the final production threshold ECDSA key.

There are some items still to be implemented for the Chromium / Beta release for t-ECDSA, but some of those are too technical to be self explaining without the full context and are not given here. We estimate those to be doable in the coming few weeks. Examples include:

  • Performance & latency benchmarks on realistically-sized subnet
  • Turn feature on by default in the SDK
  • Supporting key id (only 1 for now in consensus)
  • Addressing some security findings from the external code review
  • Signed initial dealings (from xnet resharing)
  • ic-admin commands for re-sharing to be defined based on tests
  • Writing a documentation Web page
  • Recording tutorial videos

For the GA release, the following items are currently on the table:

  • Further benchmarking
  • Performance improvements (if necessary)
  • Further testing
  • Another code review
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