The Bitcoin blockchain is the oldest blockchain protocol in the world, and arguably the most renowned. While the monetary innovation that Satoshi Nakamoto introduced remains the most significant in today’s digital currency world, there are new evolutions that have pushed the paradigm to a whole new level.
This evolution includes the hosting of smart contracts on blockchain protocols as Ethereum pioneered back in 2015. Today, new innovative functionalities are now featured on blockchain networks, and the Bitcoin network has been lagging behind due to its closed nature. However, this is all changing soon as Dfinity’s Internet Computer protocol is creating the capabilities whereby smart contracts can be hosted on the Bitcoin network.
Adopting its key chain cryptography technology, the Internet Computer blockchain will integrate with Bitcoin such that smart contracts will be able to generate BTC addresses as well as utilizing the robust liquidity found on the Bitcoin blockchain.
“The Internet Computer is powered by novel “chain key cryptography” that allows it to sign transactions for other blockchains such as Bitcoin. This capability will be used to provide smart contracts hosted on the Internet Computer with native bitcoin addresses via a direct integration of the networks,” said Dominic Williams, Founder and Chief Scientist of the DFINITY Foundation, adding “Internet Computer smart contracts will gain access to bitcoin liquidity, and Bitcoin will gain powerful new smart contract functionality, without the need for insecure and cumbersome trusted bridging services. This will help realize Satoshi’s vision by allowing bitcoin to power a new generation of Web 3.0 internet services.”
Boosting the Bitcoin Blockchain Functionality
There has been a growing clamor about open-source altcoins toppling Bitcoin in the long run. While the essence of digital currencies is not to brew competitions, a common trend in today’s blockchain ecosystem is for investors to embrace protocols based on the utilities and functionalities they have to offer.
In the past years, we have seen the gradual development of decentralized finance (DeFi), and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), both of which are drawing a new crop of users into the blockchain world. The Bitcoin network has thus far been limited to being used for payments, and the current proposition by the Internet Protocol will change the narrative across the board.
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