A developer working on “BitVM” (Bitcoin-based virtual machine) reiterated that the purpose of the technology is to scale Bitcoin, not to launch Ethereum-like decentralized financial applications on the network.
BitVM’s white paper was released on October 10 by ZeroSync project leader Robin Linus, with technical support provided by anonymous developer “Super Testnet” – implementing BitVM’s first proof-of-concept and working to expand BitVM’s functionality.
Following the launch of the product, a number of industry experts formed impression BitVM will bring DeFi to Bitcoin, just like the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) did for Ethereum.
Lightning Network also has shortcomings when it comes to scaling. It is far from solving the scalability problem.
We need more complementary things.> This is just another attempt at DEFI for Bitcoin.
Again, the author’s motivation behind BitVM is not DeFi. It’s scaling.
— Hampus (@hampus_s) October 12, 2023
However, Super Testnet told Cointelegraph that BitVM is focused on scaling rather than implementing smart contracts and a large number of altcoins:
“The real killer app is scaling Bitcoin.[Robin Linus is not]a big fan of smart contracts. He’s not too keen on making Bitcoin more expressive. He’s really interested in making Bitcoin process-per-second. Millions of transactions.”
Super Testnet stated that he does not want BitVM to be flooded with EVM-like tokens, as this would bring bad behavior to Bitcoin:
“I don’t want to see everything in the Ethereum ecosystem because most of it is a Ponzi scheme.”
He added that building a decentralized exchange on Bitcoin would be “retrograde.”
Meanwhile, Super Testnet noted that BitVM will not make Ethereum altcoins “immediately dead,” and some altcoins have already suggestion — even though it might take away their needs.
Hot News: BitVM white paper released!Experience the groundbreaking smart contract calculation method #bitcoin
Use these enhanced smart contracts to unlock features that were previously thought to require a soft fork.
Is this the end? #altcoin? pic.twitter.com/1GA43VE7If
— RichQuack (@RichQuack) October 10, 2023
Developers hope that Bitcoin (BTC) will essentially remain the only unit of currency on the Bitcoin network:
“An important feature that makes Bitcoin important is maintaining a monetary asset that everyone can agree on, rather than a floating exchange rate that burdens commerce,” he said.
BitVM could fix a Lightning Network flaw
At the same time, Super Testnet stated that BitVM’s expected payment infrastructure will also aim to improve one of the shortcomings of the Lightning Network – payment reliability:
“Lightning as a system is great, it’s much faster than anything we’ve ever made on Bitcoin. But one thing the Lightning Network doesn’t do well is payment reliability.”
River, a Bitcoin-only exchange, revealed that its Lightning payment success rate in August was 99.7% for 308,000 transactions.
He hopes BitVM can reach 60% of the transaction speed of the Lightning Network.
BitVM: updated 24 hours a day.
Thousands of Twitter posts and hours of space and discussion later, we know a lot more about BitVM than we did yesterday. Here’s a quick update:
Excited
1. BitVM is a new computing paradigm that leverages general-purpose gate NAND (and other… pic.twitter.com/zBws7gOhjA
— Dr. Bob Bodily | #BTC #ETH #ICP (@BobBodily) October 11, 2023
related: Coinbase to integrate Bitcoin Lightning Network: CEO Brian Armstrong
The developers also emphasized that BitVM, like the Lightning Network, is optional and anyone can move BTC or Bitcoin assets from the virtual machine back to cold storage or wherever it was before.
“No one is forcing you to deposit your money into a virtual machine. If you want your money to be safe, keep it safe.”
The “compute anything” misconception
Super Testnet also clarified a possible misunderstanding, explaining that BitVM in its current state cannot compute “anything” as its white paper suggests.
“We have to build more primitives to make it work within it.” They noted that implementing SHA-256 and encryption are some of the additions that need to be made.
However, Super Testnet revealed on October 12 that BitVM is already handling basic functions:
Update: bitvm can now do *3* functions, I’m making a web page where you can use it pic.twitter.com/bXYOZKx2GV
— Super Testnet (@super_testnet) October 12, 2023
Linus and Super Testnet met at a Bitcoin conference about 18 months ago and have been working on scaling Bitcoin at the scripting level almost since then, he said.
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