Mastering Bitcoin, 3rd Edition

Appendix C. Bitcoin Improvement Proposals

Bitcoin Improvement Proposals are design documents providing information to the Bitcoin community or describing a new feature for Bitcoin or its processes or environment.

As per BIP1 BIP Purpose and Guidelines, there are three kinds of BIPs:

Standard BIP

Describes any change that affects most or all Bitcoin implementations, such as a change to the network protocol, a change in block or transaction validity rules, or any change or addition that affects the interoperability of applications using Bitcoin.

Informational BIP

Describes a Bitcoin design issue or provides general guidelines or information to the Bitcoin community, but does not propose a new feature. Informational BIPs do not necessarily represent a Bitcoin community consensus or recommendation, so users and implementors may ignore informational BIPs or follow their advice.

Process BIP

Describes a Bitcoin process or proposes a change to (or an event in) a process. Process BIPs are like standard BIPs but apply to areas other than the Bitcoin protocol itself. They might propose an implementation but not to Bitcoin’s codebase; they often require community consensus. Unlike informational BIPs, they are more than recommendations, and users are typically not free to ignore them. Examples include procedures, guidelines, changes to the decision-making process, and changes to the tools or environment used in Bitcoin development. Any meta-BIP is also considered a process BIP.

BIPs ...