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Fifteen years after the birth of Bitcoin, the network is now entering an era of remarkable innovation and change, according to Stacks' co-creator Muneeb Ali.

On this episode of Unchained recorded at the Bitcoin Builders conference, Muneeb explores the complexities and advancements within Bitcoin's Layer 1 and Layer 2. He shares his perspectives on what's fueling innovation in Bitcoin's Layer 1 and discusses the implications of Ordinal Inscriptions amid criticism of it by core developers. 

He delves into the various scaling solutions within Bitcoin, highlighting how trust assumptions vary among them, and how BitVM could be a 'game changer'. He goes over the advantages of integrating smart contracts on Bitcoin, and why he considers BTC the only true form of monetary asset. 

Show highlights:

• What's driving innovation in Bitcoin’s L1 
• How Muneeb feels about Ordinals Inscriptions in Bitcoin, considering the criticism from some core developers
• How, in the recent years, research and development in crypto happened outside of Bitcoin, and how that's changing now, according to Muneeb
• The different types of scaling solutions in Bitcoin and how the trust assumptions differ in each of them
• Why he feels like BitVM is a 'game changer' and what it enables
• What the Nakamoto upgrade is on Stacks
• The advantages of having smart contracts on Bitcoin, according to Muneeb
• Why he says that BTC is the only asset that is money
• The challenges to having privacy in Bitcoin

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Popcorn Network
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• Polkadot

Guest

• Muneeb Ali, co-creator of Stacks
• Previous appearances on Unchained: 
• Bitcoin Ordinal NFTs Are Hot and Getting Hotter. What's the Hype About? - NFT Crypto
• Blockstack On Getting Independence From Google, Facebook And Amazon

Links

Recent news:

• Unchained: 
• Stacks, a Bitcoin Layer 2 Protocol, Sees All-Time High in Total Value Locked
• A New Era for Bitcoin Is Here, Whether Bitcoin Maximalists Like It Or Not
• Bitcoin Passes the $1 Trillion Market Cap Mark; All Cryptos Combined Reach $2 Trillion

Bitcoin L2s:

• Unchained: 
• Are Layer 2s on Bitcoin Having a Moment?
• How Botanix Aims to Enable Smart Contracts on Bitcoin
• An Ethereum-Like Experience Built on Bitcoin?

Learn more:

• What Are Opcodes in Bitcoin? A Beginner's Guide
• What Are BRC-20 Tokens? 
• What Are ORC-20 Tokens? 
• How to Create a Bitcoin Ordinal

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