diff --git a/playground/index.html b/playground/index.html
index 5ef3e9a44..000d0e022 100755
--- a/playground/index.html
+++ b/playground/index.html
@@ -251,17 +251,26 @@ <h3>
               </textarea>
             </div>
 
-            <div id="privatekey-secp256k1-div" class="span6">
-              <h3>Bitcoin Private Key (secp256k1)</h3>
-              <textarea id="privatekey-secp256k1" class="compressed process span6 codemirror-input"
-                placeholder="Enter your Bitcoin (secp256k1) private key here..." rows="3">L4mEi7eEdTNNFQEWaa7JhUKAbtHdVvByGAqvpJKC53mfiqunjBjw</textarea>
+            <div id="privatekey-koblitz-div" class="span6">
+              <h3>Bitcoin (ECDSA Koblitz) Private Key for Signing</h3>
+              <textarea id="privatekey-koblitz" class="compressed process span6 codemirror-input"
+                placeholder="Enter your Bitcoin (Koblitz) private key here..." rows="3">L4mEi7eEdTNNFQEWaa7JhUKAbtHdVvByGAqvpJKC53mfiqunjBjw</textarea>
+
+              <h3>Bitcoin (ECDSA Koblitz) Public Key for Verification</h3>
+              <textarea id="publickey-koblitz" class="compressed process span6 codemirror-input"
+                placeholder="Enter your Bitcoin (Koblitz) public key here..." rows="3">1LGpGhGK8whX23ZNdxrgtjKrek9rP4xWER</textarea>
+
+              <div class="koblitz-verification"></div>
             </div>
 
+
           </div>
         </div>
 
         <div id="markup-errors" class="hide alert alert-error"></div>
         <div id="param-errors" class="hide alert alert-error"></div>
+        <div id="validation-errors" class="hide alert alert-error"></div>
+        <div id="validation-message" class="hide alert alert-success"></div>
         <div id="using-context-map" class="hide alert alert-note">
           <p>NOTE: A remote context that is not known to be fully working yet was detected in your input.
             If you wish, you can use an alternative context created by the JSON-LD community to
@@ -328,7 +337,7 @@ <h3>Bitcoin Private Key (secp256k1)</h3>
               </a>
             </li>
             <li>
-              <a id="tab-signed-secp256k1" href="#pane-signed-secp256k1" data-toggle="tab" name="tab-signed-secp256k1">
+              <a id="tab-signed-koblitz" href="#pane-signed-koblitz" data-toggle="tab" name="tab-signed-koblitz">
                 <i class="icon-pencil"></i>
                 <span>Signed with Bitcoin</span>
               </a>
@@ -357,8 +366,8 @@ <h3>Bitcoin Private Key (secp256k1)</h3>
             <div id="pane-signed-rsa" class="tab-pane">
               <textarea id="signed-rsa" class="codemirror-output"></textarea>
             </div>
-            <div id="pane-signed-secp256k1" class="tab-pane">
-              <textarea id="signed-secp256k1" class="codemirror-output"></textarea>
+            <div id="pane-signed-koblitz" class="tab-pane">
+              <textarea id="signed-koblitz" class="codemirror-output"></textarea>
             </div>
           </div><!-- /.tab-content -->
         </div>
@@ -406,7 +415,7 @@ <h3>Bitcoin Private Key (secp256k1)</h3>
       $('#context-div').hide();
       $('#frame-div').hide();
       $('#privatekey-rsa-div').hide();
-      $('#privatekey-secp256k1-div').hide();
+      $('#privatekey-koblitz-div').hide();
       $('#markup,#context,#frame').bind('keyup', function() {
         $('.btn-group > .btn').each(function () {
           $(this).removeClass('active');
diff --git a/playground/jsonld-signatures.js b/playground/jsonld-signatures.js
index 76181a555..5b713f6ef 100644
--- a/playground/jsonld-signatures.js
+++ b/playground/jsonld-signatures.js
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ var libs = {};
 
 api.SECURITY_CONTEXT_URL = 'https://w3id.org/security/v1';
 api.SUPPORTED_ALGORITHMS = [
-  'BitcoinSignature2016',
+  'EcdsaKoblitzSignature2016',
   'GraphSignature2012',
   'LinkedDataSignature2015'
 ];
@@ -144,11 +144,12 @@ api.sign = function(input, options, callback) {
 
   if(api.SUPPORTED_ALGORITHMS.indexOf(algorithm) === -1) {
     return callback(new Error(
-      '[jsig.sign] options.algorithm must be one of: ' +
+      '[jsigs.sign] Unsupported algorithm "' + algorithm + '"; ' +
+      'options.algorithm must be one of: ' +
       JSON.stringify(api.SUPPORTED_ALGORITHMS)));
   }
 
-  if(algorithm === 'BitcoinSignature2016') {
+  if(algorithm === 'EcdsaKoblitzSignature2016') {
     if(typeof privateKeyWif !== 'string') {
       return callback(new TypeError(
         '[jsig.sign] options.privateKeyWif must be a base 58 formatted string.'));
@@ -297,10 +298,12 @@ api.verify = function(input, options, callback) {
       return callback(new Error('[jsigs.verify] No signature found.'));
     }
     var algorithm = jsonld.getValues(signature, 'type')[0] || '';
+    algorithm = algorithm.replace(/^.+:/, '');  // strip off any namespace to compare to known algorithm names
     if(api.SUPPORTED_ALGORITHMS.indexOf(algorithm) === -1) {
       return callback(new Error(
-        '[jsigs.verify] Unsupported signature algorithm; supported ' +
-        'algorithms are: ' + JSON.stringify(api.SUPPORTED_ALGORITHMS)));
+        '[jsigs.verify] Unsupported signature algorithm "' + algorithm + '"; ' +
+        'supported algorithms are: ' +
+        JSON.stringify(api.SUPPORTED_ALGORITHMS)));
     }
     return _verify(algorithm, input, options, callback);
   });
@@ -678,13 +681,14 @@ function _verify(algorithm, input, options, callback) {
  * @param callback(err, signature) called once the operation completes.
  */
 var _createSignature = function(input, options, callback) {
-  if(options.algorithm === 'BitcoinSignature2016') {
+  var signature, privateKey;
+
+  if(options.algorithm === 'EcdsaKoblitzSignature2016') {
     // works same in any environment
-    var signature;
     try {
       var bitcoreMessage = api.use('bitcoreMessage');
       var bitcore = bitcoreMessage.Bitcore;
-      var privateKey = bitcore.PrivateKey.fromWIF(options.privateKeyWif);
+      privateKey = bitcore.PrivateKey.fromWIF(options.privateKeyWif);
       var message = bitcoreMessage(_getDataToHash(input, options));
       signature = message.sign(privateKey);
     } catch(err) {
@@ -695,7 +699,6 @@ var _createSignature = function(input, options, callback) {
 
   if(_nodejs) {
     // optimize using node libraries
-    var signature;
     try {
       var crypto = api.use('crypto');
       var signer = crypto.createSign('RSA-SHA256');
@@ -708,10 +711,9 @@ var _createSignature = function(input, options, callback) {
   }
 
   // browser or other environment
-  var signature;
   try {
     var forge = api.use('forge');
-    var privateKey = forge.pki.privateKeyFromPem(options.privateKeyPem);
+    privateKey = forge.pki.privateKeyFromPem(options.privateKeyPem);
     var md = forge.md.sha256.create();
     md.update(_getDataToHash(input, options), 'utf8');
     signature = forge.util.encode64(privateKey.sign(md));
@@ -736,12 +738,18 @@ var _createSignature = function(input, options, callback) {
  * @param callback(err, valid) called once the operation completes.
  */
 var _verifySignature = function(input, signature, options, callback) {
-  if(options.algorithm === 'BitcoinSignature2016') {
+  var verified;
+
+  if(options.algorithm === 'EcdsaKoblitzSignature2016') {
     // works same in any environment
-    var bitcoreMessage = api.use('bitcoreMessage');
-    var message = bitcoreMessage(_getDataToHash(input, options));
-    var verified = message.verify(options.publicKeyWif, signature);
-    return callback(null, verified);
+    try {
+      var bitcoreMessage = api.use('bitcoreMessage');
+      var message = bitcoreMessage(_getDataToHash(input, options));
+      verified = message.verify(options.publicKeyWif, signature);
+      return callback(null, verified);
+    } catch (err) {
+      return callback(err);
+    }
   }
 
   if(_nodejs) {
@@ -749,7 +757,7 @@ var _verifySignature = function(input, signature, options, callback) {
     var crypto = api.use('crypto');
     var verifier = crypto.createVerify('RSA-SHA256');
     verifier.update(_getDataToHash(input, options), 'utf8');
-    var verified = verifier.verify(options.publicKeyPem, signature, 'base64');
+    verified = verifier.verify(options.publicKeyPem, signature, 'base64');
     return callback(null, verified);
   }
 
@@ -758,7 +766,7 @@ var _verifySignature = function(input, signature, options, callback) {
   var publicKey = forge.pki.publicKeyFromPem(options.publicKeyPem);
   var md = forge.md.sha256.create();
   md.update(_getDataToHash(input, options), 'utf8');
-  var verified = publicKey.verify(
+  verified = publicKey.verify(
     md.digest().bytes(), forge.util.decode64(signature));
   callback(null, verified);
 };
diff --git a/playground/playground.css b/playground/playground.css
index ab7d5def0..46b7f9ab1 100644
--- a/playground/playground.css
+++ b/playground/playground.css
@@ -73,3 +73,7 @@
 #markup-container, #output-container {
   margin-top: 1em;
 }
+
+#privatekey-koblitz-div .CodeMirror {
+  height: 100px;
+}
diff --git a/playground/playground.js b/playground/playground.js
index d57348569..dda4a5bf7 100755
--- a/playground/playground.js
+++ b/playground/playground.js
@@ -383,7 +383,8 @@
     var editor;
 
     // don't use JSON-LD for PEM data
-    if(key === 'privatekey-rsa' || key === 'privatekey-secp256k1') {
+    if(key === 'privatekey-rsa' || key === 'privatekey-koblitz' ||
+            key === 'publickey-koblitz') {
       editor = CodeMirror.fromTextArea(node, {
         matchBrackets: true,
         autoCloseBrackets: true,
@@ -739,10 +740,10 @@
     var id = playground.activeTab = evt.target.id;
 
     if(['tab-compacted', 'tab-flattened', 'tab-framed',
-      'tab-signed-rsa', 'tab-signed-secp256k1', ].indexOf(id) > -1) {
+      'tab-signed-rsa', 'tab-signed-koblitz', ].indexOf(id) > -1) {
       // these options require more UI inputs, so compress UI space
       $('#markup-div').removeClass('span12').addClass('span6');
-      $('#frame-div, #privatekey-rsa-div, #privatekey-secp256k1-div, ' +
+      $('#frame-div, #privatekey-rsa-div, #privatekey-koblitz-div, ' +
         '#context-div').hide();
       if(id === 'tab-compacted' || id === 'tab-flattened') {
         $('#param-type').html('JSON-LD Context');
@@ -753,15 +754,15 @@
       } else if(id === 'tab-signed-rsa') {
         $('#param-type').html('PEM-encoded Private Key');
         $('#privatekey-rsa-div').show();
-      } else if(id === 'tab-signed-secp256k1') {
+      } else if(id === 'tab-signed-koblitz') {
         $('#param-type').html('Base 58 Encoded Private Key');
-        $('#privatekey-secp256k1-div').show();
+        $('#privatekey-koblitz-div').show();
       }
     }
     else {
       // else no input textarea required
       $('#context-div, #frame-div, #privatekey-rsa-div, ' +
-        '#privatekey-secp256k1-div').hide();
+        '#privatekey-koblitz-div').hide();
       $('#markup-div').removeClass('span6').addClass('span12');
       $('#param-type').html('');
     }
@@ -838,11 +839,11 @@
         creator: 'https://example.com/jdoe/keys/1'
       });
     }
-    else if(playground.activeTab === 'tab-signed-secp256k1') {
+    else if(playground.activeTab === 'tab-signed-koblitz') {
       options.format = 'application/ld+json';
 
       var jsigs = window.jsigs;
-      var pkey = playground.editors['privatekey-secp256k1'].getValue();
+      var privateKey = playground.editors['privatekey-koblitz'].getValue().trim();
 
       // add security context to input
       if(!('@context' in input)) {
@@ -854,11 +855,49 @@
           [input['@context'], 'https://w3id.org/security/v1'];
       }
 
-      promise = jsigs.promises.sign(input, {
-        privateKeyWif: pkey,
-        algorithm: 'BitcoinSignature2016',
-        domain: 'example.com',
-        creator: 'public-key:' + new bitcoreMessage.Bitcore.PrivateKey(pkey).toPublicKey()
+      var signed = null;
+      var publicKeyFromPrivateKey;
+      try {
+        publicKeyFromPrivateKey = new bitcoreMessage.Bitcore.PrivateKey(privateKey).toPublicKey().toAddress('livenet');
+      } catch (e) {
+        promise = Promise.reject(e)
+      }
+
+      promise = promise || jsigs.promises.sign(input, {
+        privateKeyWif: privateKey,
+        algorithm: 'EcdsaKoblitzSignature2016',
+        creator: 'ecdsa-koblitz-pubkey:' + publicKeyFromPrivateKey
+      }).then( function(_signed) {
+        signed = _signed;
+        var publicKey = playground.editors['publickey-koblitz'].getValue().trim();
+        var verificationKey = {
+          '@context': jsigs.SECURITY_CONTEXT_URL,
+          id: 'ecdsa-koblitz-pubkey:' + publicKey,
+          type: 'CryptographicKey',
+          publicKeyWif: publicKey
+        };
+        var publicKeyBtcOwner = {
+          '@context': jsigs.SECURITY_CONTEXT_URL,
+          publicKey: [verificationKey]
+        };
+        return jsigs.promises.verify(signed, {
+          publicKey: verificationKey,
+          publicKeyOwner: publicKeyBtcOwner
+        })
+      }).then( function(verification) {
+        if (verification) {
+          $('#validation-message')
+          .text('Signature validated successfully using this public key')
+          .show();
+        } else {
+          $('#validation-errors')
+          .text('Signature was NOT validated using this public key')
+          .show();
+        }
+        return signed;
+      }).catch( function(e) {
+        console.error(e.stack)
+        throw(e)
       });
     }
     else {
@@ -882,6 +921,8 @@
   playground.process = playground._process = function(){
     $('#markup-errors').hide().empty();
     $('#param-errors').hide().empty();
+    $('#validation-errors').hide().empty();
+    $('#validation-message').hide().empty();
     $('#processing-errors').hide().empty();
     $('#using-context-map').hide();
     $('#using-context-map table tbody').empty();
@@ -1202,7 +1243,8 @@
         hasData = true;
         editor.setValue(playground.humanize(data[key]));
       }else{
-        if(key !== 'privatekey-rsa' && key !== 'privatekey-secp256k1') {
+        if(key !== 'privatekey-rsa' && key !== 'privatekey-koblitz' &&
+                key !== 'publickey-koblitz') {
           editor.setValue("{}");
         }
       }