One of the latest suggestions that has attracted attention from Bitcoin developers and users is frost (Flexible round optimized Schnorr thresholds), a cryptographic protocol that promises to change the way multi-sig wallets are managed. Frost opens new possibilities for cooperative custody and inheritance plans.
This advance, which relies on Taproot’s capabilities, could change the rules of Bitcoin’s custody dynamics By allowing key rotation, whether dedicated or not, without the need to move funds over the network Crypto-active.
So frost is not an update to the Bitcoin Base protocol, but an innovation in the encryption that is being implemented. With external applications and tools such as wallets. Therefore, its implementation does not require changes to network consensus or formalization of formal improvement proposals.
On April 19, 2025, a user known in X as @W_S_Bitcoin shared their enthusiasm about the meaning of Frost: «Key Rotation Multi Signoff Chain This is a fundamental change due to frost. Imagine that you can delete or exchange a committed key without moving funds, and what this means for a cooperative custody and inheritance plan. ”
The publication has placed on the table technical solutions that took time and now seem to be approaching reality thanks to projects like Frostsnap. However, although it may be close to realising, there is no specific date for the release.
According to Frostnap from his X account, the key rotation “occupy a prominent place in the list of pending tasks after finishing polishing the basic aspects of your wallet, and you’ll find a frostnap in your hand.”
What is Bitcoin Frost?
Frost, that is Flexible round optimized Schnorr thresholdsThis is a protocol that utilizes Schnorr Firms and Taproot addresses, and two improvements introduced in Bitcoin to optimize scheme management. Multisig. This protocol was proposed in 2020 by researchers Chelsea Komuro, Ian Goldberg and Douglas Stevila.
In short, even if a group of participants can manage the shared wallet and one of the private keys is compromised, This can be exchanged without the need for transactions on the Bitcoin network, or you can generate a new full wallet from scratch.
On the other hand, this reduces the costs associated with network commissions. On the other hand, frost-generated transactions improve privacy as they are seen in the chain as if they were unique and indistinguishable signatures of members’ traditional transactions.
The possibility of this technology was not noticed by Frostsnap, a project in which Frostsnap is developing a specific device for implementing Frost.
In response to @W_S_Bitcoin’s comment, the Frostsnap team expressed their hopes at X that “days will come when there will be no day when you will not have to move your entire wallet to something new just to change your signer.”
As reported by Cryptootics, Frostsnap works with a solution that allows users to manage shared keys across multiple devices, ensuring transactions are more secure and private. No one can distinguish That bitcoin is protected by scheme MultisigThey emphasize how Taproot hides the collaborative nature of operations and ensures Frostsnap.
Technically speaking, multi-fumers generated by this protocol It looks like a TapRoot transaction (BC1P) on the Bitcoin network.
From a technical standpoint, frost represents a major advancement in the field of encryption applied to the Bitcoin network. This protocol implements traditional threshold signature schemes (Threshold Signature) type «n-de-m». Only subconventions of participants must be signed to approve the transaction.
Benefits and challenges of Bitcoin Frost Protocol
This process is carried out entirely outside the chain through a round of communication between participants, eliminating the need to publish scheme details. Multisig With red bitcoin.
Furthermore, when integrating with TapRoot, the resulting transactions are cheaper in terms of space in the chain and more private.
However, Frost implementation is not exempt from the challenge. The same technical sources show that the complexity of its development is a critical barrier. Ensuring a safe and reliable implementation on a variety of platforms and programming languages is key to its mass adoption.
Despite these obstacles, the official draft of the protocol, available in the IETF and published in June 2024, shows Frost. It is in the advanced stages of development and technical definitionsuggests that its practical use may be in the immediate vicinity.
For Bitcoin users, the meaning of Frost is interesting. In the context of joint custody, the possibility of rotating a key without moving funds reduces the risk associated with key loss or commitment.
Regarding inheritance, you can design schemes on the Bitcoin network that allow beneficiaries to access funds without the hassle or need for public transactions, and you can change the policy of access to these inheritances if necessary through key rotation.
What’s more, privacy provided by hiding nature Multisig From the transaction, vigilance efforts by external actors may hamper important aspects in the context in which transaction traceability remains a subject being discussed.
