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Bitcoin OS: Bitcoin Block 853626 Changed Everything For BTC Smart Contracts - Edan Yago

Dec 3, 2024

Edan Yago, a contributor to BitcoinOS with extensive experience in Bitcoin development, discusses the transformative potential of Bitcoin as a programmable asset. He highlights the historical significance of block 853626, enabling zero-knowledge proofs on Bitcoin for the first time. Yago explores how BitcoinOS could revolutionize cryptocurrency by unlocking applications like staking and governance. He also contrasts Bitcoin's evolving programmability with Ethereum's smart contracts while discussing the implications of the recent U.S. election on the crypto landscape.

01:10:20

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Edan Yago

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Quick takeaways

The Taproot upgrade has significantly enhanced Bitcoin’s flexibility, allowing for complex scripting and broader decentralized finance applications.

Zero-knowledge proofs enable Bitcoin to execute sophisticated transactions off-chain, ensuring security through on-chain verification, positioning it for advanced functionalities.

Bitcoin OS promises interoperability with other blockchains, transforming Bitcoin into a global ledger while facilitating complementary smart contract capabilities.

Deep dives

Enabling Programmability on Bitcoin

Bitcoin is evolving beyond its original design as a simple ledger by embracing programmability through platforms like Bitcoin OS. This shift is about making Bitcoin a programmable asset, allowing for the creation and management of new digital assets using its blockchain. By utilizing zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, the operating system can execute complex transactions off-chain while ensuring security and integrity through on-chain verification. This innovation aims to position Bitcoin as a robust foundation for decentralized applications, fostering the development of scalable Layer 2 solutions.

Intro

3min

Exploring BitcoinOS: Revolutionizing Bitcoin with ZK Proofs

3min

Crypto's Future Post-Election

9min

Bitcoin's Evolution and Investment Potential

10min

Unlocking ZK Proofs on Bitcoin

11min

Innovations in Bitcoin OS

32min

The Roadmap and Potential of Bitcoin OS

3min

Bitcoin’s Taproot update paved the way for a new & exciting era for Bitcoin, as it expanded its use case far beyond that of an immutable ledger. However, Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens and, more recently, Runes, have limited functionality compared to what DeFi is capable of, on other smart contract blockchains. BitcoinOS envisions a revolutionary Bitcoin economy that stems from truly programmable tokens, unlocking staking, governance and many other use cases. Using BitSNARK and Grail, BitcoinOS enables Bitcoin “rollups”, which act as execution environments that use BTC as gas fee and inherit security from the L1. The missing link was always a trustless bridge between Bitcoin L1 and any potential L2. And Grail Bridge achieved just that - using zero knowledge cryptography, BTC could be transferred to other chains without relying on other custodians’ trust assumptions. In that sense, Bitcoin block #853626 is historically meaningful as it contains the first-ever onchain verification of a zero knowledge proof, on Bitcoin. A truly programmable smart contract operating system on Bitcoin was no longer a mere concept…it became a reality through BitcoinOS.

Topics covered in this episode:

Yago's background
The effect of Trump’s election on the crypto industry
The goal behind BitcoinOS
The history of Bitcoin’s programmability
Verifying ZK proofs on Bitcoin
Taproot
Ordinals
BitSNARK, Grail bridge and Merkle Mesh
BitcoinOS modularity and sequencing
An impending (r)evolution of the industry
Bitcoin vs. Ethereum L2 landscape
Bringing Bitcoin liquidity to Cardano
BitcoinOS roadmap

Episode links:

Sponsors:

Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
Chorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture.

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Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

Bitcoin OS: Bitcoin Block 853626 Changed Everything For BTC Smart Contracts - Edan Yago

Episode guests