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16/08/24
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Introducing BitVM2: Advancements in Bitcoin Scalability and Smart Contracts
The developers behind BitVM, a solution aimed at enhancing Bitcoin’s scalability, have introduced the second version of their sidechain, known as BitVM2, along with an upgraded component called the BitVM Bridge. These innovations are said to incorporate significant enhancements over the original system.
BitVM co-founder Alexei Zamyatin recently outlined the new framework for BitVM2 and the BitVM Bridge in a detailed whitepaper. Originally launched in October of the previous year by Robin Linus, the BitVM project sought to enable off-chain smart contracts on the Bitcoin network without requiring any modifications to its core protocol.
One of the standout features of BitVM2 is its “permissionless” nature, allowing anyone to challenge suspicious transactions. Challenging a transaction now requires just three transactions, a stark improvement from the previous version, which demanded up to 70 transactions and limited challenge requests to a few authorized parties.
The primary goal of BitVM2 is to facilitate the creation of a rollup—a separate network built on top of Bitcoin—that can manage transactions more effectively while maintaining the security standards of the original network. The BitVM Bridge enhances user experience by allowing safer Bitcoin transfers to and from the rollup, with reduced lock-up periods and lower capital requirements.
The initial whitepaper from October 2022, titled “BitVM: Compute Anything on Bitcoin,” described a mechanism for implementing Turing-complete contracts on Bitcoin without modifying its consensus rules. Since its release, it has sparked a wave of development efforts across the Bitcoin ecosystem, leading to a variety of layer-2 solutions.
Developers involved with the BitVM initiative emphasize the project’s primary intent is to scale the Bitcoin network rather than create Ethereum-like decentralized finance applications. The overarching aim is to enable Bitcoin to efficiently handle millions of transactions per second, thereby enhancing its usability and adoption in the broader financial landscape.
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