diff --git a/ethereumj-core/src/main/java/org/ethereum/crypto/ECKey.java b/ethereumj-core/src/main/java/org/ethereum/crypto/ECKey.java
index a44c0992..d42d1bdf 100644
--- a/ethereumj-core/src/main/java/org/ethereum/crypto/ECKey.java
+++ b/ethereumj-core/src/main/java/org/ethereum/crypto/ECKey.java
@@ -366,18 +366,6 @@ public class ECKey implements Serializable {
         return new ECDSASignature(components[0], components[1]).toCanonicalised();
     }
     
-    /**
-     * Signs a text message using the standard Bitcoin messaging signing format and returns the signature as a base64
-     * encoded string.
-     *
-     * @throws IllegalStateException if this ECKey does not have the private part.
-     */
-    public String signBitcoinMessage(String message) {
-        byte[] data = ByteUtil.formatForBitcoinSigning(message);
-        byte[] hash = HashUtil.doubleDigest(data);
-        return sign(hash).toBase64();
-    }
-    
     /**
      * Takes the sha3 hash (32 bytes) of data and returns the ECDSA signature
      *
@@ -401,23 +389,6 @@ public class ECKey implements Serializable {
         sig.v = (byte) (recId + 27 + (isCompressed() ? 4 : 0));
         return sig;
     }
-
-    /**
-     * Given a piece of text and a message signature encoded in base64, returns an ECKey
-     * containing the public key that was used to sign it. This can then be compared to the expected public key to
-     * determine if the signature was correct.
-     * 
-     * @param message a piece of human readable text that was signed
-     * @param signatureBase64 The Bitcoin-format message signature in base64
-     * @throws SignatureException If the public key could not be recovered or if there was a signature format error.
-     */
-    public static ECKey signedBitcoinMessageToKey(String message, String signatureBase64) throws SignatureException {
-        byte[] messageBytes = ByteUtil.formatForBitcoinSigning(message);
-        // Note that the C++ code doesn't actually seem to specify any character encoding. Presumably it's whatever
-        // JSON-SPIRIT hands back. Assume UTF-8 for now.
-        byte[] messageHash = HashUtil.doubleDigest(messageBytes);
-        return signatureToKey(messageHash, signatureBase64);
-    }
     
     /**
      * Given a piece of text and a message signature encoded in base64, returns an ECKey
@@ -536,16 +507,6 @@ public class ECKey implements Serializable {
         return true;
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Convenience wrapper around {@link ECKey#signedBitcoinMessageToKey(String, String)}. If the key derived from the
-     * signature is not the same as this one, throws a SignatureException.
-     */
-    public void verifyBitcoinMessage(String message, String signatureBase64) throws SignatureException {
-        ECKey key = ECKey.signedBitcoinMessageToKey(message, signatureBase64);
-        if (!key.pub.equals(pub))
-            throw new SignatureException("Signature did not match for message");
-    }
-
     /**
      * <p>Given the components of a signature and a selector value, recover and return the public key
      * that generated the signature according to the algorithm in SEC1v2 section 4.1.6.</p>
diff --git a/ethereumj-core/src/main/java/org/ethereum/util/ByteUtil.java b/ethereumj-core/src/main/java/org/ethereum/util/ByteUtil.java
index 9d5ef905..c348784f 100644
--- a/ethereumj-core/src/main/java/org/ethereum/util/ByteUtil.java
+++ b/ethereumj-core/src/main/java/org/ethereum/util/ByteUtil.java
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package org.ethereum.util;
 import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.math.BigInteger;
-import java.nio.charset.Charset;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 
 import com.google.common.primitives.UnsignedInteger;
@@ -11,10 +10,6 @@ import com.google.common.primitives.UnsignedLongs;
 
 public class ByteUtil {
 
-    /** The string that prefixes all text messages signed using Bitcoin keys. */
-    public static final String BITCOIN_SIGNED_MESSAGE_HEADER = "Bitcoin Signed Message:\n";
-    public static final byte[] BITCOIN_SIGNED_MESSAGE_HEADER_BYTES = BITCOIN_SIGNED_MESSAGE_HEADER.getBytes();
-	
     /**
      * Creates a copy of bytes and appends b to the end of it
      */
@@ -24,20 +19,6 @@ public class ByteUtil {
         return result;
     }
 
-//    /**
-//     * Returns the given byte array hex encoded.
-//     */
-//    public static String bytesToHexString(byte[] bytes) {
-//        StringBuffer buf = new StringBuffer(bytes.length * 2);
-//        for (byte b : bytes) {
-//            String s = Integer.toString(0xFF & b, 16);
-//            if (s.length() < 2)
-//                buf.append('0');
-//            buf.append(s);
-//        }
-//        return buf.toString();
-//    }
-    
     /**
      * The regular {@link java.math.BigInteger#toByteArray()} method isn't quite what we often need: it appends a
      * leading zero to indicate that the number is positive and may need padding.
@@ -57,30 +38,11 @@ public class ByteUtil {
         System.arraycopy(biBytes, start, bytes, numBytes - length, length);
         return bytes;        
     }
-        
-    /**
-     * <p>Given a textual message, returns a byte buffer formatted as follows:</p>
-     *
-     * <tt><p>[24] "Bitcoin Signed Message:\n" [message.length as a varint] message</p></tt>
-     */
-    public static byte[] formatForBitcoinSigning(String message) {
-        try {
-            ByteArrayOutputStream bos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
-            bos.write(BITCOIN_SIGNED_MESSAGE_HEADER_BYTES.length);
-            bos.write(BITCOIN_SIGNED_MESSAGE_HEADER_BYTES);
-            byte[] messageBytes = message.getBytes(Charset.forName("UTF-8"));
-            bos.write(encodeInt(messageBytes.length));
-            bos.write(messageBytes);
-            return bos.toByteArray();
-        } catch (IOException e) {
-            throw new RuntimeException(e);  // Cannot happen.
-        }
-    }
     
     /**
      * <p>Given a textual message, returns a byte buffer formatted as follows:</p>
      */
-    public static byte[] formatForEthereumSigning(byte[] message) {
+    public static byte[] formatForSigning(byte[] message) {
         try {
             ByteArrayOutputStream bos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
             bos.write(encodeInt(message.length));