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TERM_DEF // UPGRADES_BIPS / BIP_47_REUSABLE_PAYMENT_CODES
BIP 47 (REUSABLE
PAYMENT CODES)
BIP 47 (Reusable Payment Codes). Early reusable static-address scheme using notification transactions and Diffie-Hellman.

This page sits in the Upgrades & BIPs section — The proposal process and the major upgrades that shaped Bitcoin. Read on for what it is, why it exists, how it works under the hood, and what to watch out for.
WHAT_BIP_47_REUSABLE_PAYMENT_CODES_IS
BIP 47 (Reusable Payment Codes) — at a glance
UPGRADES
BIP 47 — "Reusable Payment Codes" is a proposal in the Privacy family, first published in 2015 with status active. Early reusable static-address scheme using notification transactions and Diffie-Hellman. Its technical mechanism: reusable payment codes negotiated via on-chain notification transactions. PayNyms / Samourai; partially superseded by BIP-352 Silent Payments
Why it exists
DESIGN
BIP 47 (Reusable Payment Codes) exists to solve a specific problem: let users publish a single static "code" that recipients can pay without address reuse. Without a written, numbered spec, every wallet and node implementer would interpret the requirement differently — and Bitcoin's value depends on every implementation agreeing exactly. BIP-47 is the single source of truth for this concern, so any new client built today can match the behaviour of every client built since 2015.
HOW_IT_WORKS
Mechanism
HOW IT WORKS
Mechanically, BIP-47 reusable payment codes negotiated via on-chain notification transactions. Adoption today: PayNyms / Samourai; partially superseded by BIP-352 Silent Payments.
1. Author drafts BIP-47 against the BIP-2 template — abstract, motivation, specification, rationale. 2. The text + a reference implementation are posted on the bitcoin-dev list and as a PR to bitcoin/bips. 3. Reviewers tear it apart: ambiguities, security concerns, edge cases, interaction with prior BIPs. 4. Once stable, the BIP editor merges it; it gets a number (BIP-47) and the status "draft" or "proposed". 5. Implementations land in Bitcoin Core / wallets / other clients. For consensus changes: activation parameters chosen. 6. After deployment + adoption, BIP-47 is promoted to "final"; deprecated proposals get "replaced" or "withdrawn".
WORKED_EXAMPLE
BIP-47 — quick reference card
EXAMPLE
BIP number : 47 Title : Reusable Payment Codes Area : Privacy First published: 2015 Status : active Fork class : no Motivation : let users publish a single static "code" that recipients can pay without address reuse. Mechanism : reusable payment codes negotiated via on-chain notification transactions. Where it shows up : PayNyms / Samourai; partially superseded by BIP-352 Silent Payments. Read the spec : https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0047.mediawiki
KEY_PROPERTIES
OPT-IN
No authority can force a BIP on anyone. Adoption depends entirely on whether the change is genuinely useful.
NUMBERED
Stable numeric reference — BIP-47 means the same thing across every wallet, miner, and node that has read this spec.
NON-CONSENSUS
BIP-47 is not a consensus rule — clients can implement it without coordinating with the network at large.
DEPLOYED
Implementations of BIP-47 are in production. The behaviour is observable on mainnet today.
COMMON_PITFALLS
Things that catch people out
PITFALLS
  • Don't confuse "draft" / "proposed" / "final" status — read the BIP header before relying on it in production.
  • The BIP number is just an editorial counter — it doesn't imply correctness or stability. Always cross-reference with the latest bitcoin/bips repo.
RELATED_CONCEPTS
Other terms from Upgrades & BIPs — click any to read its page:
Segregated Witness (SegWit, BIP 141) Taproot (BIP 341) Tapscript (BIP 342) Schnorr (BIP 340) BIP Process Soft Fork Activation MASF (Miner-Activated Soft Fork) UASF (User-Activated Soft Fork)
TERMINOLOGY_INDEX
TERMINOLOGY
BIP 47 (Reusable Payment Codes)
Early reusable static-address scheme using notification transactions and Diffie-Hellman.
Segregated Witness (SegWit, BIP 141)
The 2017 upgrade separating witness-data/">witness data, fixing tx malleability, and introducing weight units.
Taproot (BIP 341)
The 2021 upgrade introducing key-aggregable schnorr-signatures/">Schnorr signatures and Merkleized script trees.
Tapscript (BIP 342)
Script-language updates accompanying Taproot — new opcodes, removed limits.
Schnorr (BIP 340)
The Schnorr signature spec adopted by Taproot.
BIP Process
The community workflow for proposing, discussing, and tracking changes to Bitcoin.
Soft Fork Activation
The mechanism (versionbits, MASF, UASF, Speedy Trial) by which soft forks turn on.
MASF (Miner-Activated Soft Fork)
Activation triggered by miner signaling in block versions.