Author: Melvin Carvalho 2014-10-31 18:58:07
Published on: 2014-10-31T18:58:07+00:00
On October 22, 2014, Adam Back and his co-authors Andrew Poelstra and Andrew Miller published a paper on side-chains, two-way pegs, and compact SPV proofs. The paper outlines how Bitcoin can be moved into and out of a side-chain to achieve interoperability, even with different parameters or experimental features. In a discussion, Adam reflects on Satoshi's whitepaper, noting that it does not define Bitcoin but rather Electronic Coin. He also expresses uneasiness with the terminology around Bitcoin, altcoins, altchains, and blockchains.In another email thread from March 16, 2014, Adam discusses two-way pegging and how it enables interoperability between Bitcoin and side-chains. An SPV proof of burn is used to reanimate coins from Bitcoin to the side-chain and vice versa. To ensure security, the Bitcoin chain is firewalled from any security bugs on the side-chain. Private chains can also be created with the same rules as the side-chain, and it becomes possible to peg the side-chain to a private chain.Adam proposes that beta/stable models could work for Bitcoin development, with a live beta network that respects the 21 million coin limit and allows coins to move between Bitcoin and betacoin with necessary security restrictions. During the beta period, betacoin would not be considered an alpha, and people could use it for real value transactions. Once Bitcoin beta stabilizes, the remaining Bitcoins can be moved, and the old network switched off, with mining past a flag day moving to betacoin. Bitcoin-stable may pull validated changes and merge them, as a way to pull in any features needed in the shorter term and benefit from the betacoin validation.The Bitcoin community has been discussing the idea of creating a beta network to test new features before implementing them on the main network. This would lead to faster development and avoid mindshare dilution with altcoins. It may also concentrate useful-feature alt activities into one open-source and open control foundation mediated area, getting more developers, testers, and resources working together. The beta network would respect the 21 million limit and insulate Bitcoin from betacoin security defects. However, finding high caliber testers and developers is a challenge. The suggestion was made that alt-coin minded startups and developers donate their time to bitcoin-beta for the bits they are missing as a way to help bitcoin progress faster. The Bitcoin Foundation could ask for BTC donations to hire more developers and testers full time. Overall, the idea of a beta network is seen as an interesting and potentially valuable concept for the Bitcoin community.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T03:23:31.874134+00:00