diff --git a/opentimestamps/core/s2c.py b/opentimestamps/core/s2c.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a877457
--- /dev/null
+++ b/opentimestamps/core/s2c.py
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+# Copyright (C) 2016 The OpenTimestamps developers
+#
+# This file is part of python-opentimestamps.
+#
+# It is subject to the license terms in the LICENSE file found in the top-level
+# directory of this distribution.
+#
+# No part of python-opentimestamps including this file, may be copied,
+# modified, propagated, or distributed except according to the terms contained
+# in the LICENSE file.
+
+## What follows is a lot of inefficient but explicit secp256k1 math
+class Point(object):
+    inf = True
+    x = 0
+    y = 0
+
+    def __init__(self, x=0, y=0):
+        self.x = x
+        self.y = y
+        if x == 0 and y == 0:
+            self.inf = True
+        else:
+            self.inf = False
+
+    def __repr__(self):
+        if self.inf:
+            return "Point(infinity)"
+        else:
+            return "Point(%x, %x)" % (self.x, self.y)
+
+    def __eq__(self, other):
+        if isinstance(other, self.__class__):
+            return (self.inf == True and other.inf == True) or\
+                   (self.inf == False and other.inf == False and self.x == other.x and self.y == other.y)
+        else:
+            return False
+
+    def __ne__(self, other):
+        return not self.__eq__(other)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def decode(data):
+        if len(data) != 33 or (data[0] != 2 and data[0] != 3):
+            raise MsgValueError("Incorrectly formatted public key")
+
+        x = int.from_bytes(data[1:], 'big')
+        if x >= SECP256K1_P:
+            raise MsgValueError("out of range x coordinate for secp256k1 point")
+
+        ysqr = (x ** 3 + 7) % SECP256K1_P
+        y = psqrt(ysqr)
+        if pow(y, 2, SECP256K1_P) != ysqr:
+            raise MsgValueError("invalid x coordinate for secp256k1 point")
+
+        if y % 2 == 1 and data[0] == 2:
+            y = SECP256K1_P - y
+        if y % 2 == 0 and data[0] == 3:
+            y = SECP256K1_P - y
+
+        return Point(x, y)
+
+    def encode(self):
+        ret = bytearray(self.x.to_bytes(33, 'big'))
+        assert(ret[0] == 0)
+        if self.y % 2 == 1:
+            ret[0] = 3
+        else:
+            ret[0] = 2
+        return ret
+
+    def add(self, pt):
+        if self.inf:
+            return pt
+        if pt.inf:
+            return self
+
+        if self.x == pt.x:
+            if self.y == SECP256K1_P - pt.y:
+                return Point()
+            else:
+                assert(self.y == pt.y)
+                lam = (3 * self.x ** 2 * pinv(2 * self.y)) % SECP256K1_P
+        else:
+            lam = ((pt.y - self.y) * pinv(pt.x - self.x)) % SECP256K1_P
+
+        x3 = (lam ** 2 - self.x - pt.x) % SECP256K1_P
+        y3 = (self.y + lam * (x3 - self.x)) % SECP256K1_P
+
+        return Point(x3, SECP256K1_P - y3)
+
+    def scalar_mul(self, s):
+        ret = Point()
+        add = self
+        s = s % SECP256K1_N
+        while s > 0:
+            if s % 2 == 1:
+                ret = ret.add(add)
+            add = add.add(add)  # add
+            s >>= 1
+        return ret
+
+SECP256K1_P = 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFEFFFFFC2F
+SECP256K1_N = 0xfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffebaaedce6af48a03bbfd25e8cd0364141
+SECP256K1_GEN = Point(0x79be667ef9dcbbac55a06295ce870b07029bfcdb2dce28d959f2815b16f81798,
+                      0x483ada7726a3c4655da4fbfc0e1108a8fd17b448a68554199c47d08ffb10d4b8)
+
+def pinv(x):
+    return pow(x, SECP256K1_P - 2, SECP256K1_P)
+
+def psqrt(x):
+    # using `>> 2` in place of `/ 4` keeps everything as an int rather than float
+    return pow(x, (SECP256K1_P + 1) >> 2, SECP256K1_P)
+
diff --git a/opentimestamps/tests/core/test_s2c.py b/opentimestamps/tests/core/test_s2c.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..19fc8dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/opentimestamps/tests/core/test_s2c.py
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+# Copyright (C) 2016 The OpenTimestamps developers
+#
+# This file is part of python-opentimestamps.
+#
+# It is subject to the license terms in the LICENSE file found in the top-level
+# directory of this distribution.
+#
+# No part of python-opentimestamps including this file, may be copied,
+# modified, propagated, or distributed except according to the terms contained
+# in the LICENSE file.
+
+import binascii
+import unittest
+
+from opentimestamps.core.s2c import *
+
+class Test_SignToContract(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_point_rt(self):
+        """Point encoding round trip"""
+        gen = SECP256K1_GEN
+        encode = gen.encode()
+        self.assertEqual(encode, binascii.unhexlify("0279be667ef9dcbbac55a06295ce870b07029bfcdb2dce28d959f2815b16f81798"))
+        gen2 = Point().decode(encode)
+        self.assertEqual(gen, gen2)
+
+    def test_pinv(self):
+        """Field inversion mod p"""
+        self.assertEqual(pinv(1), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(pinv(2), 0x7fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff7ffffe18)
+        self.assertEqual(pinv(3), 0xaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa9fffffd75)
+        self.assertEqual(2, pinv(0x7fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff7ffffe18))
+        self.assertEqual(3, pinv(0xaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa9fffffd75))
+
+    def test_psqrt(self):
+        """Field square root mod p"""
+        self.assertEqual(psqrt(1), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(psqrt(2), 0x210c790573632359b1edb4302c117d8a132654692c3feeb7de3a86ac3f3b53f7)
+        self.assertEqual(psqrt(4), 2)
+        # may return the sqrt or its negative
+        self.assertEqual(psqrt(9), SECP256K1_P - 3)
+        self.assertEqual(psqrt(49), SECP256K1_P - 7)
+
+    def test_point_add(self):
+        """Point adding and doubling"""
+
+        inf = Point()
+        # P random chosen by dice roll
+        p1 = Point(0x394867ad93f5c9612e8d8b7600443334026e648e365337d799190e845d649e67,
+                   0x0b84af9a00c1a55a7ac03917e59b21c68d1ffdf18720c3ad279077049cfaaf63)
+        # 2P
+        p2 = Point(0x8e6575f6c759aea04a8ec65f61f71eba237a0af54292d41e3a4bac2efa922dea,
+                   0x2b3c07687787ff07ae312305f30481c451ae3b78d4f479a3b729615fedc040e4)
+        # -2P
+        np2 = Point(0x8e6575f6c759aea04a8ec65f61f71eba237a0af54292d41e3a4bac2efa922dea,
+                    0xd4c3f897887800f851cedcfa0cfb7e3bae51c4872b0b865c48d69e9f123fbb4b)
+        # 3P
+        p3 = Point(0x53dd5e495c7404790f9347470cc9c38ee239809c758f02ec04ba641ab3d0e043,
+                   0xd7a4f5e5bdf21000b1fe7216adbea92cb9917d8fea7b37628c1eddb409a5cd3f)
+
+        self.assertEqual(inf.add(inf), inf)
+        self.assertEqual(p1.add(inf), p1)
+        self.assertEqual(inf.add(p1), p1)
+        self.assertEqual(p1.add(p1), p2)
+        self.assertEqual(p1.add(p2), p3)
+        self.assertEqual(p2.add(p1), p3)
+        self.assertEqual(p3.add(np2), p1)
+        self.assertEqual(np2.add(p3), p1)
+        self.assertEqual(p2.add(np2), inf)
+        self.assertEqual(np2.add(p2), inf)
+
+    def test_scalar_mul(self):
+        inf = Point()
+        # P random chosen by dice roll
+        p1 = Point(0x394867ad93f5c9612e8d8b7600443334026e648e365337d799190e845d649e67,
+                   0x0b84af9a00c1a55a7ac03917e59b21c68d1ffdf18720c3ad279077049cfaaf63)
+        # 2P
+        p2 = Point(0x8e6575f6c759aea04a8ec65f61f71eba237a0af54292d41e3a4bac2efa922dea,
+                   0x2b3c07687787ff07ae312305f30481c451ae3b78d4f479a3b729615fedc040e4)
+        # -2P
+        np2 = Point(0x8e6575f6c759aea04a8ec65f61f71eba237a0af54292d41e3a4bac2efa922dea,
+                    0xd4c3f897887800f851cedcfa0cfb7e3bae51c4872b0b865c48d69e9f123fbb4b)
+        # 3P
+        p3 = Point(0x53dd5e495c7404790f9347470cc9c38ee239809c758f02ec04ba641ab3d0e043,
+                   0xd7a4f5e5bdf21000b1fe7216adbea92cb9917d8fea7b37628c1eddb409a5cd3f)
+
+        # nP
+        n = 0xa91ce154dcab9adabe08cc1ee84ec3cd0f426bbc08a54a1c41bd25f2587caedd
+        pn = Point(0x9dc4b057a857ad2ef3535b4a207a7bfc9264e8fcacf718c895db7ead8d445b26,
+                   0x5af110ecb68636e5c352b69fc6348173932b83ca64587a91fd88af1446e33979)
+
+        self.assertEqual(inf.scalar_mul(0), inf)
+        self.assertEqual(inf.scalar_mul(1000), inf)
+        self.assertEqual(inf.scalar_mul(-1), inf)
+
+        self.assertEqual(p1.scalar_mul(0), inf)
+        self.assertEqual(p1.scalar_mul(1), p1)
+        self.assertEqual(p1.scalar_mul(2), p2)
+        self.assertEqual(p1.scalar_mul(-2), np2)
+        self.assertEqual(p2.scalar_mul(-1), np2)
+        self.assertEqual(p1.scalar_mul(3), p3)
+