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Implementation of Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold Signatures on secp256k1

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RFC-9591 FROST implemented as a libsecp256k1 extension (C89)

Name: RFC-9591 FROST implemented as a libsecp256k1 extension (C89)
Availability: InStock
Author: mnardelli

by mnardelli·Feb 26, 2026·2 points·0 comments

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AI Analysis

●●●BangerWizardryNiche GemShip It

FROST signatures in C89 on secp256k1—minimal, auditable, Bitcoin-grade quality for threshold signing.

Strengths

•C89 portability + zero external crypto dependencies makes this genuinely embeddable in resource-constrained systems
•RFC-9591 test vector compliance proves correctness; libsecp256k1 fork strategy maintains upstream merges
•Directly addresses real pain: institutional signers, cold wallets, and embedded HSMs needed FROST without full crypto stacks

Weaknesses

•Niche audience limits virality; only relevant to teams doing threshold cryptography on secp256k1
•No high-level bindings or CLI tools shipped yet—requires C integration skills to adopt

Post Description

Hi HN,

We built a FROST (RFC-9591) threshold Schnorr signature implementation as an extension module for libsecp256k1.

The goal wasn’t to make another framework but to see what it looks like when FROST is engineered inside a minimal, production-grade C crypto library.

Highlights: - fork of bitcoin-core/secp256k1 - portable C89 - no external crypto dependencies - RFC test vector compatibility - upstream merges maintained

Mostly useful for embedded or performance-sensitive systems where adding a full crypto stack isn’t ideal.

Code: https://github.com/bancaditalia/secp256k1-frost

Happy to answer questions or hear critiques.