CryptOpenDevelopment

bitcoin

🔑💻 Your MacBook is a Hardware Wallet now — meet Specter Enclave

Yep, 100 % open-source 👍 Repo just went live so GH’s code search is still indexing it.

The Touch ID / Secure Enclave magic isn’t in that two-commit demo branch at all. All the code lives in a separate module (specter-enclave) that we keep in its own repo and pull in at build time. The README edits just point macOS users at the notarised DMG. Nothing is “only in the binary” ,  you can reproducibly rebuild the exact same DMG from source in about 15 minutes.


_(open-source, Touch ID-gated, ledger-level security, 100 % free)_

> TL;DR: We ripped Specter open, jammed the private key inside your Mac’s Secure Enclave, and bolted Touch  ID in front of the signing button. No dongles, no USB firmware roulette, no “where’s my Ledger PIN?” panic.  Just run the app (or build it from source), pair it with your node, and your laptop becomes the safest cosigner you already own.

# 🥷 __What makes it different?__

- Mac’s Secure Enclave key never leaves the chip; Touch ID ≈ hardware-wallet button
- Ships 2-of-3 by default: Enclave key + hardware wallet + remote descriptor
- Entire signing path in Swift + CryptoKit, 1 700 LOC.
- No USB required; PSBTs move via NFC (if you have iPhone) or animated QR.

# __💡 How it works__

- `specter-enclave init`: generates a BIP-32 root inside Secure Enclave (non-extractable).
- `specter-enclave export-xpub`: dumps xpub to pair with Bitcoin Core → watch-only wallet.
- When you build a PSBT, Specter prompts __Touch ID__ → Enclave signs → PSBT broadcast.
- _Optional_: add a Coldcard/Tapsigner as second key; Enclave enforces 2-of-3.

# __🏆 250 k sat lightning bounties__

- Improvement / Bugfix PR = 10 000 sats.
- Full code-review write-up = 50 000 sats.
- Critical bug = up to 250 000 sats.

# __🔮 Coming next__

- __Secure Enclave + YubiKey 2-of-2 mod__ (no hot storage at all).
- __iPhone watch-only companion__ – scan QR, push PSBT to laptop for Touch ID sign.
- __Kernel Panic Kill-Switch__ – steal-my-laptop and the Enclave key nukes itself.

# __👉 Grab it, audit it, roast it.__

Because the best hardware wallet is the one you already paid Apple to solder into the motherboard. 🍏⚡️

_GitHub (source & dmg_): [https://github.com/CryptOpenDevelopment/specter-desktop](https://github.com/CryptOpenDevelopment/specter-desktop)

_(MIT licence, forked from Specter Desktop 2025-05-16)_