Blockstream acquires Bitcoin wallet GreenAddress to provide an interface for sidechains

Bitcoin protocol development firm Blockstream has acquired wallet provider GreenAddress, a move that could have implications for developing sidechain solutions.

After the acquisition, the three developers of the GreenAddress wallet team will continue to work on the wallet’s security and privacy features and work on compatibility with sidechains. To date, Blockstream has raised $76 million in two rounds of financing.

In an interview, former GreenAddress founder and CEO Lawrence Nahum, now a senior architect at Blockstream, said the team’s goal is to shape the wallet into an on-ramp for sidechains, which are designed to enable various interoperable blockchains to be anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain.

“Blockstream needs more than just a node service that can provide some functionality, it also needs an interface, a wallet. This interface will provide an integrated solution for Blockstream’s customers,” Nahum told reporters.

The move is perhaps not that surprising, as the two teams have been working closely together for nearly two years.

The GreenAddress wallet was launched in 2014 and supported innovative wallet features very early on, such as deterministic wallets, which allow for improved key creation and multi-signature security features.

Compatible with sidechains

However, this acquisition is not just about merging the two companies, they also plan to merge their respective technologies.

Nahum explained that GreenAddress already supports Blockstream’s sidechain alpha feature, perhaps the first wallet to publicly support this feature, and the new plan will further integrate the two companies’ technologies.

One of the integrations reportedly will be support for ElementChains by the GreenAddress wallet, an open source tool that allows developers to mix and match new features, such as isolated verification or new script opcodes that extend Bitcoin’s functionality, to create custom sidechains.

“Schnorr transactions and confidential transactions, those are features we’re going to support,” Nahum said.

Sidechains currently in progress include an alpha test network and the first commercial sidechain, Liquid, which allows faster movement of funds between exchanges.

Adopting this technology means that the GreenAddress wallet can further explore interoperable blockchains for users, and the wallet will eventually support a wide range of assets and innovations.

Future plans

Looking ahead, the team hopes to continue moving forward on privacy and security features, including support for adding smart contracts to Bitcoin, and updating Bitcoin Core’s code to include support for checklocktimeverify and checksequenceverify .

While bitcoin offers trustless transactions, Nahum said these features will provide “even more trustless” transactions.

The team is also working on becoming a multi-platform wallet library and ultimately achieving cross-platform and cross-programming language.

Overall, Nahum believes the new developments are positive for the wallet.

He concluded: “I am looking forward to this acquisition and I think GreenAddress will grow better, faster and stronger.”