Published on: 2020-04-01T17:17:10+00:00
In a recent email conversation, an individual proposed the idea of using the same encoding technique used to compress images to compress the Bitcoin blockchain. The claim was that with more training data, this AI-optimized mapping could potentially allow Bitcoin blocks to fit in a single tweet, making it possible to store the entire blockchain in Twitter feeds. However, one person questioned the validity of this claim, comparing it to a fable about a 1-bit image compressor.While it remains unclear where exactly the compressed blockchain data would be stored if implemented, the concept of using Twitter feeds for such storage presents feasibility concerns. Additionally, Bolt 11, which utilizes bech32 to encode lightning invoices, has faced challenges due to its size, making it difficult to share when routing hints or rendezvous onions are added. This has impacted the development of new features for lightning transactions on Twitter, as the platform restricts tweets to a maximum of 280 characters.To address this issue, Acinq Research has conducted extensive research and experimentation, resulting in an efficient invoice encoding optimized primarily for Twitter. This encoding uses an AI-optimized mapping from 11-bit words to Twitter emojis. Preliminary results have shown that emoji invoices are over 2 times smaller than legacy invoices. Some users have already started using this encoding method in production.Acinq Research has made a specification pull request (PR) available, along with reference eclair code. They plan to release this feature in the next update of their Phoenix wallet. Furthermore, they believe that the same encoding technique could also be applied to compress the bitcoin blockchain, potentially allowing bitcoin blocks to fit within a single tweet. They welcome feedback on further improvements for this technology.
Updated on: 2023-07-31T22:47:12.472054+00:00