1. 
   ethicnology commented at 1:18 pm on March 20, 2026: contributor

   BIP-85: the Nostr path

   Adds a dedicated BIP-85 application for deriving Nostr private keys a.k.a. nsec, with a structured /{identity}'/{account}' path supporting multiple unlinkable identities.

   Motivation

   Today there is no standardized BIP-85 path for Nostr key derivation:

   Method	Path	Problem
   BIP-85 HEX	m/83696968'/128169'/32'/index'	Not Nostr-specific, no identity structure
   BIP-85 mnemonic + NIP-06	BIP-85 → 12 words → m/44'/1237'/0'/0/0	Two-step, wasteful intermediate mnemonic
   NIP-06 directly	m/44'/1237'/account'/0/0	Unhardened, Not BIP-85 entropy isolation

   A dedicated application number eliminates this fragmentation.

   Without an isolated derivation path, a mnemonic imported into a Nostr-aware wallet could collide with keys already in use by a Bitcoin wallet (or vice versa). A dedicated BIP-85 application isolates Nostr key derivation entirely, preventing any cross-protocol key reuse.

   The structured {identity}'/{account}' path also enables account discovery: a wallet can derive pubkeys aka npub for the first N identities and accounts, then query Nostr relays for events signed by those keys to automatically recover all active accounts.

   Application number: 86

   The number is the sum of alphabetical positions of the letters in nostr (n=14 + o=15 + s=19 + t=20 + r=18). This deliberately avoids 1237 (the SLIP-0044 coin type used in NIP-06’s m/44'/1237'/...) to clearly distinguish BIP-85 derivation from NIP-06 derivation.

   0m/83696968'/86'/{identity}'/{account}'
   

   Identity index 0' and account index 0' across identities are reserved for future key management operations.

   From this new application number, identity semantics (proof-of-linkage, key rotation, account discovery) can be specified in an external NIP that references this application.

   Implementation commitment

   I maintain two BIP-85 libraries and can port this application to both:

   • Rust: bip85_extended
   • Dart/Flutter: bip85_entropy
2. feat(BIP-85): add Nostr application 86' d3512bdcef
3. fix: exclude nsec from typos 371277d2e0
4. ethicnology renamed this:
   feat(BIP85): add Nostr application
   BIP85: add Nostr application
   on Mar 20, 2026
5. 
   murchandamus commented at 3:58 pm on March 20, 2026: member

   This doesn’t strike me as related to Bitcoin. Perhaps this would be better directed at the NIPs repository.
6. murchandamus closed this on Mar 20, 2026

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7. 
   ethicnology commented at 4:31 pm on March 20, 2026: contributor

   Hello @murchandamus

   I’m surprised by this reaction since most of the applications specified in this BIP are not directly Bitcoin related either (RSA, Dice, Passwords…)

8. 
   murchandamus commented at 11:49 pm on March 20, 2026: member

   Maybe I reacted too quickly. @akarve, please let us know whether you are interested in accepting this PR.
9. murchandamus reopened this on Mar 20, 2026

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10. murchandamus added the label Proposed BIP modification on Mar 20, 2026
11. murchandamus added the label Pending acceptance on Mar 20, 2026
12. 
    akarve commented at 0:32 am on March 21, 2026: contributor

    Maybe I reacted too quickly. @akarve, please let us know whether you are interested in accepting this PR.

    Thanks for caring, @murchandamus. @ethicnology nostr could be a reasonable BIP85 app. I’m probably missing something about nostr since I don’t know it deeply, so I will ask a few basic questions to make sure we aren’t reinventing any wheels. Looking at NIP-06 there are BIP32 and BIP39 derivations for nostr keys. BIP85 already has apps for 32’ and 39'.

    • What is missing if one just assigns an integer key index for either app as their nostr index and then derives the nsec and npub?
    • How does your proposed derivation relate to the recommended BIP32 m/44'/1237'/<account>'/0/0 derivation?

    For later (if we get there):

    • Higher app numbers are better (less collisions, higher = later, saves room for BIPs) so I’d recommend one number per letter of nostr
    • I am updating the linked reference implementation to have an app protocol soon and would request if we move forward that you extend the same https://github.com/akarve/bipsea

Contributors
ethicnology murchandamus akarve

Labels
Proposed BIP modification Pending acceptance