- Can we increase easily the number of signers required and number of signers? Currently designed I understand that it is 8 out of 15. Any particular reason for this pair?
The system isn't designed specifically for 8 of 15, but it can support that and I have used it in examples. Shareholders can change the number of total signers and the number of signers required by voting for the number they think is best; no code changes are needed and it can be changed at anytime. The minimum number of required signers is 2 while the maximum is 13. The minimum number of total signers is 4 and the maximum is 15. 8 of 15 is just a guess of where we will end up, but experience will give us a lot more information about what the optimal values are. It is unlikely there will be that many signers right when B&C Exchange begins operation.
- How could a trusted signer increase the speed of signing a deposit request message if he or she wanted to?
Principally by not using Tor and other proxies such as VPNs. I suspect shareholders will prefer the added security of proxies over the speed of not using them, at least in the early days before more sophisticated solutions are crafted. Proxies obscure the signer's IP address, which basically means there is zero attack surface because no one has any idea how to communicate directly with signers. All communication occurs via general network broadcast. It is a very secure architecture, especially when compared to centralized exchanges that have considerable attack surfaces to protect.