Here’s Everything To Know About The New Sensation BitVM

In technology, evolution is a neverending process. From business solutions to video games, everything gets upgraded from time to time. Since its advent, blockchain has been going through upgrades too. Following the same vein, Bitcoin developer Linus released a paper on a new Bitcoin script, BitVM. 

What is BitVM?

BitVM proposes a new method to utilize complicated smart contracts on the Bitcoin network.  Pseudonymous developer Super Testnet shared a post about it on X (formerly Twitter). He said that it is probably the most interesting discovery in Bitcoin’s history. Moreover, it can possibly be implemented on Ethereum as well. According to him, BitVM enables developers to build more advanced applications. 

It can push Bitcoin’s consensus mechanism forward; generating better results. However, not everyone in the space holds the same view about it. Another crypto enthusiast, Dan Robinson shared an adverse view on BitVM. He said that the protocol works only for two parties. As a result, it’s not applicable to multiparty applications and rollups. Furthermore, he suggested a better protocol named ZK Contingent Payments by Greg Maxwell. 

However, discussing BitVM’s functionality is certainly a must. Linus highlights sidechains and rollups in his paper. Notably, these features are quite prevalent among various applications these days. Sidechains run parallel to blockchains like an additional network. Rollups, on the other hand, bundle up transactions before sharing them on the main network. They both enhance the scalability of blockchain networks like Ethereum. 

Increased Scalability of Bitcoin

Currently, ETH can process approximately a dozen transactions due to its design limitations. But on BitVM, the figure is getting multiplied to a huge extent. As per Linus, Bitcoin may be able to execute millions of transactions easily with this new solution. It would definitely make Bitcoin the most-used currency on earth. 

No “Soft Fork” Needed

This is probably the most remarkable feature of BitWM. It works on the BTC blockchain seamlessly without requiring any soft fork. So far, developers have used them to make the network more efficient in transactions. Yet, the developers faced great challenges in executing them. For example, Bitcoin’s last soft fork Taproot took years to implement. Its testing took a lot of time and effort from the team. 

Off-Chain Execution

BitVM executes smart contracts in “off-chain” transactions. This helps in speeding up the computations and frees up space as well. Despite that, it can manage only up to four MB of data/minute on Bitcoin’s base layer. While that looks like a downer, the network makes up for it in other ways. When both parties participate in the transaction, they can execute a high volume of off-chain computations. 

On top of that, it wouldn’t leave any trace in the chain. In an abstract manner, it works quite like the Lightning Network. The Lightning Network also uses off-chain mechanisms and they’re considered the future of Bitcoin. 

The critics of BitVM have highlighted that it’s taking a very long time in verification. But the supporters are countering it by saying it won’t add much of a volume. The speculations about it are rife and only time will tell if it’s worth the hype or not.

Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.

Latest posts by Steve Anderrson (see all)