Schnorr Signatures
Efficient cryptographic signatures in Bitcoin — Taproot foundation, multisig efficiency.
Schnorr signatures are a type of cryptographic signature activated on Bitcoin through the Taproot upgrade (2021) — more efficient and private than previous ECDSA signatures.
Schnorr vs ECDSA:
Schnorr advantages:
1. Linear aggregation • Multiple signatures can be combined into one • Multisig transaction (3-of-5) looks like regular one • Privacy: can't see it's multisig • Space savings → lower fees for multisig
2. Taproot Keypath spend • Complex script looks like simple transaction • Lightning Network, multisig, timelock — all look the same
3. Security • Mathematically proven more secure than ECDSA • Smaller attack surface
4. MuSig2 • Multi-party Schnorr protocol • Multiple parties generate key without trusted dealer • Foundation for advanced Bitcoin multisig
Applications: