Post
Topic
Board Development & Technical Discussion
Re: Introducing a version field to BIP39 Mnemonic Phrases.
by
LesLie_0300dbdd1b
on 12/01/2024, 18:43:39 UTC
Since I am not so experienced, could you number 2-3 possible shortcomings of not having a versioning system, apart from the one mentioned in the quoted text above?
From what I know these are the main criticism:
Quote from: aezeed
The lack a version means that wallets may not necessarily know how to re-derive addresses during the recovery process. A lack of a birthday means that wallets don’t know how far back to look in the chain to ensure that they derive all the proper user addresses. Additionally, BIP39 use a very weak KDF.
(https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/aezeed#section-readme)

Given the limitations of non-versioned BIP39 mnemonic phrases, it's equally important to consider the benefits that versioning could bring.
It's essential to design systems with forward compatibility in mind to ensure their long-term relevance and adaptability.