Explained: How Drivechain captured the attention of the Bitcoin … – Protos
Two Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs), 300 and 301, have overtaken the conversation in the Bitcoin community. Altogether known as Drivechain, these proposals would activate peer-to-peer trustless pegs between Bitcoin and up to 256 side blockchains (sidechains).
Prior to August, a tracker of tweets containing the word Drivechain averaged less than a half dozen results per day. Nowadays, there are suddenly thousands of daily tweets about Drivechain.
Sidechains using BIPs 300-301 are funded with BTC and withdrawable into BTC, yet they are entirely separate blockchains with independent rules, operations, and tokens. If the Bitcoin community were to activate these Drivechain BIPs, there could be up to 256 distinct sidechains, each denominated in BTC.
Each sidechain could operate any type of blockchain, including copies of existing ones or brand new ones. Indeed, there are already testnet versions of popular blockchains. For example, there are Monero and zCash sidechains in the Drivechain testnet.
Long-time Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr recently rebased Drivechains years-old code and submitted a formal pull request (PR) to Bitcoin developers. It remains a contentious, miner-activated soft fork proposal. Drivechain has failed to attract consensus for activation across the Bitcoin network for years. There is no proposed code for activation nor a Bitcoin Core software client that would support Drivechain in the near future.
The author of the BIPs, Paul Sztorc, has been working on Drivechain since 2015 when he proposed a whitepaper for Truthcoin, a Drivechain-powered prediction marketplace with two tokens, BTC-pegged CashCoins and speculatively-priced VoteCoins. Its worth noting that neither Truthcoin nor its tokens exist on any mainnets.
Sztorc formally proposed BIP 300 in 2017 and BIP 301 in 2019 to the formal Bitcoin devlist. Hes been promoting Drivechain ever since, and founded a company to promote it, called LayerTwo Labs, which raised $3 million in December.
LayerTwo Labs says the benefits of Drivechains include support for Turing-complete smart contracts, stablecoins, privacy features, low-fee payments, DeFi, and asset tokenization.
Drivechain would allow up to millions of altcoins with variable prices to vie for their sidechains BTC backing. For example, a Drivechain clone of BNB Chain on would allow millions of Drivechain-cloned BEP20 tokens to trade among speculators vying for a share of the BTC committed to the sidechain.
More conservative sidechains might choose to use only a single, BTC-pegged token. Others might choose to enable millions of speculative tokens. Again, each sidechain chooses its own operating rules.
If Bitcoin were to activate Drivechain, each sidechain would have to first attract 90% of the hashrate during the activation period in order to secure one of Drivechains 256 slots. Thereafter, the operators of the sidechain would have to attract mainchain BTC contributions in order to grow the value of their sidechain.
Read more: Bitcoiners respond to Mike Greens scarcity destroys value critique
Depositing into a sidechain is a quick, straightforward process. Deposits are easy because anyone can send BTC from a personal, single-signature wallet into a Drivechain wallet. Simple.
Withdrawing from a sidechain, however, could take as long as six months. Specifically, withdrawal finality requires at least 13,150 miner-upvoted blocks within 26,300 continuous Bitcoin blocks.
This lengthy, cumbersome process is purposeful, according to Sztorc. Withdrawals from a sidechain initiate from Drivechains anyone-can-spend wallets and require at least three months of cooperation by miners in order to settle those funds with finality back into the Bitcoin network. This long period of cooperation reduces the risk of transaction reversal, double-spending, and theft to near-zero.
A few years after its 2015 introduction, Sztorc changed the name of his peer-to-peer prediction marketplace proposal Truthcoin to Hivemind. He proposed a way to make cheap talk expensive through monetary wagers on real-world events.
Of course, there already are various forms of prediction markets, including PredictIt, Augur, and Polymarket. Hiveminds differentiated value proposition is its alleged unstoppability due to its Bitcoin-operated sidechain.
Truthcoins rebranding sparked yet another debate about Bitcoin sidechains. Some supporters say Satoshi Nakamoto first supported the idea of sidechains. Specifically, Satoshi suggested the idea of merge-mined blockchains that could coexist alongside Bitcoin, share mining power, and experiment with new features. Satoshi mentioned BitDNS as an example, an idea that became Namecoin, which still operates today. Vitalik Buterin ported Namecoin onto Ethereum with some modifications like the Ethereum Name Service (ENS).
However, Satoshi seems to have said very little about sending BTC back and forth between mainchain and sidechain, as Truthcoin developer Paul Sztorc proposed when he introduced BIP 300 in 2015.
BIP 300 and drivechains drew some early support from celebrities in the Bitcoin community like Roger Ver. Ver invested in the Truthcoin project in 2015. Their reasoning implies that sidechains could have at least partially solved the big block issue that caused the Bitcoin War of 2017.
Read more: Blockchain dev says DAOs dont work, elected leaders are the answer
Observers like Digital Cash Network and Human Events writer Joel Valenzuela opined that the current Bitcoin community had a bad habit of rejecting win/win solutions like Drivechains and accepting increasingly centralized and custodial solutions like Lightning Network.
Others call sidechains an unnecessary distraction, citing work on two-way pegged (albeit federated and non-peer-to-peer) sidechains like Liquid or Rootstock.
Skeptics also questioned the long-term fee model for sidechains, questioning why miners would not just steal the sidechains BTC backing outright.
Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr said the funds on a drivechain would technically belong to the drivechain miners, who could ignore the rules without a legal, contractual obligation to preserve the BTC for their real owners in the sidechain. He said the ability of miners to steal BTC from sidechains makes Drivechain different from protocols like the Blockstream-led Liquid. Blockstream selects Liquid functionaries, who sign literal contracts promising to follow functionary rules.
However, Sztorc countered that fees from operating reliable sidechains earning transaction fees for the long-term would benefit miners without them having to forcefully steal the sidechains BTC backing.
Got a tip? Send us an email or ProtonMail. For more informed news, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
See original here:
Explained: How Drivechain captured the attention of the Bitcoin ... - Protos
- 'I've moved on to other things' Satoshi Nakamoto's final email revisited after 13 years - Cointelegraph - April 26th, 2024 [April 26th, 2024]
- Satoshi Nakamoto Delivered Final Words on Bitcoin 13 Years Ago Today - U.Today - April 26th, 2024 [April 26th, 2024]
- Bitcoin's halving is a major spectacle that's the whole point - Blockworks - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- From Satoshi to Slots: A Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin Casinos and Their Advantages - Eye On Annapolis - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Two potential outcomes for Bitcoin if Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity is revealed By Investing.com - Investing.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Satoshi-Era Bitcoin Wallet Suddenly Revives After 14 Years: Details - TradingView - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Satoshi Back? Nakamoto-Era Bitcoin Wallet with 50 BTC Suddenly Comes Back to Life After 14 Years - ZyCrypto - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, The Creator of Bitcoin - Crypto Times - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Craig Wright has claimed since 2016 to be bitcoin's purported creator "Satoshi Nakamoto" - pdclarion.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Craig Wright has claimed since 2016 to be bitcoin's purported creator "Satoshi Nakamoto" - KULR-TV - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Ripple's CTO Adds Fuel to Doubts over Craig Wright's Assertion of being Bitcoin's Founders Satoshi Nakamoto - DailyCoin - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Ripple CTO Exposes Flaws in Craig Wright's Claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto - TradingView - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- After UK judge rules Craig Wright is not Satoshi, the mystery endures here are four figures long eyed as Bitcoin's ... - DLNews - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Craig Wright has claimed since 2016 to be bitcoin's purported creator "Satoshi Nakamoto" - The Mountaineer - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- The Only Person on Earth Whos Legally Not Satoshi Nakamoto Craig Wright Gets Brutally Trolled as His Bitcoin-Related Claims Stand Discredited -... - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto? Court Rejects Craig Wright's Claim To Be Bitcoin's Inventor By Benzinga - Investing.com UK - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Calvin Ayre leaves X after court finds Craig Wright is not Satoshi - Protos - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Ethereum-based Satoshi Nakamoto Impersonator Suffers 93.16M cDAI Liquidation - The Crypto Basic - March 13th, 2024 [March 13th, 2024]
- Craig Wright Court Hearing: COPA Accuses Would-be Satoshi Nakamoto of Perjury - CCN.com - March 13th, 2024 [March 13th, 2024]
- Parsing Satoshi: What the Malmi emails reveal about Bitcoin's creator - Cointelegraph - March 13th, 2024 [March 13th, 2024]
- Satoshi-Era DOGE Whale Returns After 10.2 Years of Dormancy - TradingView - March 13th, 2024 [March 13th, 2024]
- Kurt Wuckert Jr: Ignorance of BSV is what keeps it from being the go-to blockchain so far - CoinGeek - March 13th, 2024 [March 13th, 2024]
- Satoshi Nakamoto Is Rolling Over In His Grave As Traders Watch Fed - Forbes - January 31st, 2024 [January 31st, 2024]
- Solana threatens Ethereum's stablecoin dominance, new meme coin surging in presale - crypto.news - January 31st, 2024 [January 31st, 2024]
- Bitcoin halving 2024: Octa expert expectations - Taiwan News - January 31st, 2024 [January 31st, 2024]
- Is Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Back? Enigmatic Post Sparks Speculation By U.Today - Investing.com - January 30th, 2024 [January 30th, 2024]
- The Evolution of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency: A Decade of Digital Disruption - Medium - January 30th, 2024 [January 30th, 2024]
- JPMorgan CEO's dig on Bitcoin and Satoshi spark BTC hodl rumors on Reddit - Cointelegraph - January 24th, 2024 [January 24th, 2024]
- JPM's Jamie Dimon believes Satoshi Nakamoto will either increase or "erase" Bitcoin supply - CryptoSlate - January 24th, 2024 [January 24th, 2024]
- Why Satoshi Nakamoto is smiling at BlackRocks embrace of Bitcoin - Fortune - January 24th, 2024 [January 24th, 2024]
- Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?. In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto published the | by Benny Pregarz | Jan, 2024 - Medium - January 24th, 2024 [January 24th, 2024]
- Speculation Rife Over $1.2M Bitcoin Sent to Satoshi; Sei & InQubeta Win Over Investors - NewsBTC - January 24th, 2024 [January 24th, 2024]
- Blur and Bitcoin Cash: Are They the Next to Boom? An In-Depth Look at What's Captivating the Crypto Market - Finbold - Finance in Bold - January 24th, 2024 [January 24th, 2024]
- Satoshi Nakamoto's Legacy and the Future of Bitcoin in Finance - TheStreet - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- 2023 Crypto Wealth Surge Satoshi Nakamoto Tops With $26B Increase, Industry Titans Follow Featured Bitcoin ... - Bitcoin.com News - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- UXUY launches the world's first standardized indexer, an inscription Infra embracing Bitcoin and the spirit of Satoshi - InvestorsObserver - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- The Rebel Satoshi Phenomenon: Can a $50 Investment Really Grow to $5,000? - Analytics Insight - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- Looking Beyond Bitcoin and Dogecoin: Top Cryptocurrency Picks for 2023 - Finbold - Finance in Bold - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- Key Cryptocurrencies to Keep an Eye on During a Bull Market: Featuring Litecoin and Rebel Satoshi - Finbold - Finance in Bold - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- 2024 is the year for enterprise growth and Satoshi's legacy: Calvin Ayre - CoinGeek - December 30th, 2023 [December 30th, 2023]
- What Is A Coinbase Transaction In Bitcoin? - CCN.com - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Tracing the Lineage of Cryptocurrencies: A Guide to Bitcoin's Digital Descendants - TechiExpert.com - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Bitcoin: 13 Years Ago Satoshi Nakamoto Posted His Last Message - Watcher Guru - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Bitcoin in danger as we are 'one chess move away' from 'big problems' - Finbold - Finance in Bold - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Ethereum (ETH) Nears Key Support, Cardano (ADA) and Rebel Satoshi ($RBLZ) Fuel Altcoin Momentum - CryptoPotato - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Its 13 years today since Satoshi Nakamoto was last active on BitcoinTalk - Tekedia - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Trends and Predictions: Bitcoin and the Changing Face of Global Finance - CXOToday.com - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Bitcoin Breadcrumbs: Tracing the Path of Cryptocurrency Evolution - Daily Californian - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Crypto Expert Adam Back Predicts Bitcoin Going to $100,000 Before ... - Captain Altcoin - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- Privacy is paramount, and zero-knowledge cryptography is the way - Blockworks - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- Analyzing The Key Differences And Similarities: BITCI Vs. Bitcoin - Inventiva - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- Regulatory Challenges: How Governments Are Responding to ... - The Coin Republic - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- Bitcoin Ordinals Vs. NFTs: Analyzing Signuptoken.com And ApeCoin - Tekedia - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- 'In Early' Podcast talks to Nick Smart about Bitcoin, Dr. Craig Wright ... - CoinGeek - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- Is Buying Bitcoin, ETH Now Akin to Buying Internet in the 1990s? - The Coin Republic - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- The Promises and Pitfalls of Bitcoin, and the Looming Threat of a ... - C2C Journal - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- Back to school book roundup - Management Today - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- The conversation is starting to change around legal duties for ... - CoinGeek - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- The Role of Marketing in Crypto Presales: Unlocking Success for ... - Tekedia - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- Nakamigos Set To Launch Its Hottest NFTs This Year Can It Bring ... - Inside Bitcoins - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- Who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin? - The Coin Republic - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- How to put words into a Bitcoin address? Here's how vanity ... - Cointelegraph - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- Similarities Between Bitcoin and Ethereum - Watcher Guru - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- What Is Bitcoin's Fee-To-Reward Ratio? Cryptopolitan - Cryptopolitan - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- What Is a 51% Attack in Crypto? Definition and History - Techopedia - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- With Web3, We Can Build The World We Want To Live In - Entrepreneur - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- Bitcoin and NFTs collide: Kurt Wuckert Jr. talks to the Morgan Report - CoinGeek - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Exploring the benefits of holding Bitcoin for long-term investment - The Daily Progress - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Michael Saylor Highlights Bitcoin Ordinals' Role In MicroStrategy's App Development Vision - TronWeekly - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Shiba Inu Surpasses Bitcoin In LunarCrush's Top Trending ... - Analytics Insight - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Op-ed: Why Ordinals, BRC-20 is bad for Bitcoin - CryptoSlate - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Bitcoin Betting Is a Reality Today: What's Next for the Gambling ... - Bitrates - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- BITCOIN TOWER, The First One In The World, Will Be Built In Dubai - MENAFN.COM - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- How Bitcoin Educates Us About Finance And Economy For Better ... - Blockchain Magazine - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Will Bitcoin Hit $100k This Year? Experts Believe These 2 Cryptos ... - Analytics Insight - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- From Crypto to Care: How Blockchain Is Transforming Healthcare Data Management - Boldsky - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- US Secret Service holds crypto, other questions answered in AMA session - AMBCrypto News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Bitcoin is the greatest distraction from the greatest disruption ... - CryptoTvplus - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Why Emerging Southeast Asia Is Crypto Friendly - Forbes - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Top 10 crypto artist Trevor Jones on being rich, rekt and rich again ... - Cointelegraph - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]