Bitcoin (BTC) Layer 2 startup Build on Bitcoin (BOB) has announced the launch of its public testnet, designed to provide the leading crypto network with the functionality of Ethereum (ETH), its most popular competitor.
The protocol is designed as a one-click bridge to Ethereum's DeFi ecosystem and includes both EVM and roll-up technology to make it a “Swiss Army Knife for all things Bitcoin,” according to its website.
“We focus on inclusivity rather than maximalism and enable seamless interactions between the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems,” said Alexei Zamyatin, co-founder of BOB, in a press release on Wednesday. He continued:
“We are setting the stage for a future where Bitcoin’s full potential can be realized without compromising its core principles – unlike the status quo in which 90% of Bitcoin use cases are centralized.”
Old-generation blockchains like Bitcoin are known to lack many sophisticated crypto services that newer networks offer, such as decentralized trading, borrowing and lending. It's also terribly slow and expensive to use. During periods of high demand, transaction fees are up to $30 this month.
A popular and growing scaling solution is Bitcoin's Lightning Network, although experts in the field say its utility remains limited when used without third-party custody.
Another solution is to use cheaper and faster Bitcoin sidechains, which also require trust in somewhat centralized federations to avoid stealing one's own coins.
Are Bitcoin rollups possible?
According to Zamayatin, rollups – already a popular scaling technology for Ethereum – bring better trade-offs.
“We want to ensure that the Bitcoin full nodes – Bitcoin as a whole – enforce the correct operation of the rollups associated with them,” he said. While this is not possible without a blockchain fork, BOB's alternative is to leverage BitVM, which allows developers to create fraud proofs for Bitcoin.
“You can challenge a malicious operator – that’s what BitVM enables,” Zamayatin said in a Twitter space on Wednesday. “Let’s say you have twenty sequencers and at least one of them is honest – that sequencer could stop the other malicious sequencers from stealing your Bitcoin.”
Bitcoin developer Robin Linus published an article on BitVM in October in which he described a computing paradigm that allows Bitcoin to express Turing smart contacts.
Since its release, developers have debated extensively whether the protocol could enable rollups and trustless sidechains on Bitcoin, unlocking all sorts of features once thought impossible for the network. The verdict on this matter is still pending.
“This again requires us to get BitVM running in an efficient manner,” Zamayatin said.
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