delvingbitcoin
Who will run the CoinJoin coordinators?
Posted on: September 19, 2024 16:21 UTC
The discussion highlights the persistent challenge of centralized communication coordination within Joinmarket, an issue not fully addressed when compared to solutions like Coinshuffle.
The introduction of a "directory node" concept, accessible via .onion services, aimed to mitigate this by transitioning the role from a communication coordinator to a peer discovery service. This approach intended to leverage ephemeral tor onion services for enhancing privacy and decentralization. Initially, this strategy seemed promising as it facilitated larger coinjoin transactions and promoted peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, where transaction makers would operate their own onion services. This setup allowed a user, or 'taker', to use the directory node primarily for advertising purposes before directly connecting with makers for transaction completion. Despite these advancements, practical challenges with using ephemeral tor onion services have impeded the effectiveness of this solution. Consequently, while the directory node concept marked a significant step towards reducing centralization by promoting direct maker-taker interactions, it falls short of achieving the level of decentralization and privacy preservation found in protocols like Coinshuffle.