<blockquote>
  <p>Signing using the private key of an address does nothing for me, as it doesn't prove I control the address (I could have told someone else to sign their address).</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In general, OpenPGP keys and Bitcoin keys are incompatible.</p>

<p>You can sign a message using the private key to sign a message that says "This address, and this PGP key are held by so-and-so."  It's possible to forge this by asking someone else with a lot of Bitcoin to claim that their Bitcoins are yours.</p>

<p>This is a problem that doesn't really have a good solution. You can give them the private key and ask them to derive the public key, to prove that you own that address. However, if you do that, an unethical lawyer could steal your Bitcoins.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-26T23:56:34.247Z
More fundamentally, cryptography can't really distinguish between you doing something, and you convincing someone else to do something on your instructions.
Nate Eldredge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-22T20:43:50.633Z
2016-02-22T20:43:50.633Z
Nick ODell
<p>I want to prove that I control an address for asset verification. To lawyers that might not even know what a blockchain is.</p>

<p>Signing using the private key of an address does nothing for me, as it doesn't prove I control the address (I could have told someone else to sign their address). Is there a way I can leverage PGP signatures in the signing message?</p>

<address><message-signing>
Can I sign a message with an Open-PGP key?
CQM
# Can I sign a message with an Open-PGP key?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-02-22)

I want to prove that I control an address for asset verification. To lawyers that might not even know what a blockchain is.

Signing using the private key of an address does nothing for me, as it doesn't prove I control the address (I could have told someone else to sign their address). Is there a way I can leverage PGP signatures in the signing message?

**Tags:** address, message-signing


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-02-22. Score: 1

> Signing using the private key of an address does nothing for me, as it doesn't prove I control the address (I could have told someone else to sign their address).

In general, OpenPGP keys and Bitcoin keys are incompatible.

You can sign a message using the private key to sign a message that says "This address, and this PGP key are held by so-and-so." It's possible to forge this by asking someone else with a lot of Bitcoin to claim that their Bitcoins are yours.

This is a problem that doesn't really have a good solution. You can give them the private key and ask them to derive the public key, to prove that you own that address. However, if you do that, an unethical lawyer could steal your Bitcoins.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: More fundamentally, cryptography can't really distinguish between you doing something, and you convincing someone else to do something on your instructions.  

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