Simplifying Bitcoin Payments

The key to achieving this is through the recently proposed BIP-353 by BlueMatt. Chunky address formats have been one of Bitcoin’s longest-standing UX hurdles. The strings of random alphanumeric characters making up the format can be intimidating to newcomers and often invite user error. The compelling solution proposed by BIP-353 is human-readable Bitcoin addresses—i.e., ₿alice@example.com—which resolve through DNS, making Bitcoin feel more like email and less like cryptography.

At its core, BIP-353 uses DNSSEC-signed DNS TXT records to encode Bitcoin payment instructions. This adds a layer of user-friendliness without sacrificing security. The proposal ensures that a single, familiar identifier can represent any type of Bitcoin payment instruction—i.e., on-chain addresses, Lightning invoices, or even Lightning offers. A full implementation of the proposal would enable Bitcoin wallet developers, vendors, and users to enjoy the much-desired simplicity in payments.

To understand how powerful and practical BIP-353 can be today, I’ve built a Rust-based proof of concept that implements the full specification.

use bip353::{Resolver, PaymentInstruction};
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let resolver = Resolver::new()?;
    let (user, domain) = Resolver::parse_address("₿alice@example.com")?;
    let instruction = resolver.resolve(&user, &domain).await?;
    println!("URI: {}", instruction.uri);
    Ok(())
}

The design is based on three main pillars: robust DNS resolution, DNSSEC validation, and support for all major Bitcoin payment types. The resolver securely queries DNS for TXT records tied to an address like ₿user@domain.com, validates them using DNSSEC, and returns a well-structured payment instruction ready for use.

Testing for my proof of concept is split across the domains of address parsing, URI parsing, and DNS resolution. In the unit and integration tests conducted, every architecture layer is validated—from the high-level API down to DNS edge cases, such as lookups. Flexibility is a key aspect of why BIP-353 could gain traction, as a single DNS-based address can resolve to whatever payment method suits the moment. This kind of modular, multi-network capability paves the way for payment interoperability that “just works.”

# Run unit tests
cargo test

# Run integration tests (some require DNS setup)
cargo test -- --ignored

As Bitcoin continues to mature, it needs to be more accessible to the next wave of users. BIP-353 may not be a perfect solution, but with the current tooling, it could offer the best maneuver for addressing payment instruction challenges. Of course, there is ongoing discussion around advanced zero-knowledge cryptography and its client-side proving capabilities, but let’s face it—most of those solutions are still not as advanced or battle-tested as we’d like.

Through DNSSEC-backed security, support for modern payment flows, and user-friendly addressing, we can aim for better UX alongside hardened infrastructure. Please explore the implementation and contribute here on GitHub.

# Clone and build the project
git clone https://github.com/frankomosh/bip353
cd bip353
cargo build --release