Although many people consider Bitcoin to be the most popular cryptocurrency, they go elsewhere for cutting-edge products, protocols, and applications. As a result, despite significant growth, Bitcoin’s continued development in the application sector has largely gone unnoticed. In actuality, the pace of continuous Bitcoin-based service expansion is accelerating.
Innovative Protocols Based On Bitcoin
There are some intriguing findings from recent research by The Block into Bitcoin and its applicability for future uses. Beyond the current foundation layer that the world’s most popular cryptocurrency offers, further analysis is necessary. Even though the Bitcoin network has been operating for more than ten years, it is capable of much more than just handling transactions and maintaining public records on the blockchain.
While Bitcoin does not have a network value equivalent to the applications that operate on top of it, Ethereum does. Before the recent market downturn, the trillion-dollar network only had a few well-known applications, making up only a tiny portion of the network’s value. As more builders add value to Bitcoin through various initiatives and storylines, things are gradually improving.
As the most secure and stable base layer, Bitcoin must also be acknowledged. Although it might not have the highest throughput or the lowest costs, it is a solid foundation for present and future development. While Ethereum and consorts are renowned for swiftly changing their core technology in response to user demand, the community and maintainers of Bitcoin have demonstrated a solid resistance to attempts to change the currency’s fundamental principles, including supply and the consensus mechanism.
Bitcoin-Based Protocols Are Continually Evolving
The core functioning of Bitcoin has undergone multiple attempts over the years. The first concepts dated back to the introduction of colored coins in December 2012. Other early highlights include the introduction of Counterparty in 2014 and the recognition of MasterCoin in 2013. Between 2014 and 2018, there was little activity on that front, but in 2018, developers rekindled their interest in enhancing Bitcoin’s capabilities.
In actuality, 2018 was a very active year thanks to RSK, Liquid, and the launch of the first Lightning Network implementation. Stacks and its intelligent contracts entered the mainnet in 2020, just after Sovryn. This year, Taro revealed their asset issuance system for Bitcoin, showing there are still many untapped potentials.
Stacks makes it clear that there are many advantages to these smart contracts. With Stacks, enthusiasts can learn about NFTs, decentralized finance (Defi), the Blockchain Naming System (which ties Stacks usernames to off-chain states to create open namespaces with customizable properties), the Proof of Transfer consensus algorithm, mining and stacking, and the Clarity coding language.
Increasing The Usability Of Bitcoin
As the most promising platform for application development, various groups and organizations are focusing on Bitcoin. The Lightning Network will be used to issue assets, according to Lightning Labs. They also intend to investigate a brand-new stable coin that will operate on the Bitcoin network but be collateralized by BTC. It would demonstrate that stability and volatility do not have to be mutually exclusive and would give bitcoin a new use. Additionally, it improves the Lightning Network’s standing among developing payments and as a driver of BTC payment acceptance.
Stacks were mentioned earlier, but the ecosystem lists numerous startups and projects using its technology. Not to be forgotten are the contributions made by Superfandom, Gamma, Arkadiko, and others. That also holds for Sovryn and other companies constructing on Rootstock (RSK), as they all share the objective and vision of enhancing the usefulness of the most stable foundation in existence.