diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 492ccba..e50b31a 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -# BIP324 Encrypted Communication +# BIP324 Encrypted Transport Protocol [BIP324](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0324.mediawiki) describes an encrypted communication protocol over the Bitcoin P2P network. Encrypted messages offer a number of benefits over plaintext communication, even though the data exchanged over the Bitcoin P2P network is public to some degree. For instance, plaintext message tampering without detection is trivial for a man in the middle (MitM) attacker. Additionally, a nefarious actor may associate metadata such as IP addresses and transaction origins without explicitly having to connect directly to peers. BIP 324 - "V2" - transport forces nefarious observers to actively connect to peers as opposed to passively observing network traffic, and makes packet tampering detectable. Furthermore, V2 messages over TCP/IP look no different from random noise, making Bitcoin P2P packets indistinguishable from other network packets.