BitcoinOS (BOS) has announced that it has open-sourced BitSNARK, a zero-knowledge (ZK) verification protocol for use on Bitcoin.
BitSNARK is the first protocol to bring zk-SNARKs (Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) to Bitcoin (BTC).
According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, the protocol enables privacy preservation in transactions and smart contracts on the blockchain without altering BTC’s core protocol.
“BitSNARK is used alongside two other innovations, Grail Bridge and Merkle Mesh, to expand Bitcoin’s role in DeFi, cross-chain applications and privacy-first technology.”
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Implications for BTC blockchain
The BTC blockchain has historically been limited to basic transactions without privacy protection elements beyond cryptographic wallet addresses.
zk-SNARKs allow for the verification of data and BTC blockchain transactions without revealing sensitive information, including user personal and financial details.
Expanding this technology beyond platforms like Ethereum will enable more complex decentralized applications (DApps) and privacy-oriented operations on the BTC blockchain.
In a Q&A with Cointelegraph, Edan Yago, CEO and co-founder of BitcoinOS, explained that the development can help BTC “evolve into a network” that is secure and versatile.
“We hope that others can evaluate how it works, implement it, experiment with it and collaborate to improve and innovate together. We also believe it will create discourse and debate, which in turn will help innovation move faster."
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BitSNARK integration details
According to the press release, introducing the ZK verification protocol on BTC will enable decentralized atomic swaps, cross-chain transactions, and two-way pegging.
BitSNARK will also incorporate “economic incentives” to maintain “honesty” on the BTC blockchain without overwhelming the network with computation.
“Provers and Verifiers both have something to lose, which keeps the system fair and prevents malicious actors from compromising the verification process.”
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Things to consider
After successfully verifying the first ZK-proof on the BTC mainnet on July 24, introducing zk-SNARKs to the blockchain seems like a natural progression, but there are some considerations.
Despite the potential advantages of zk-SNARKS on BTC, the Bitcoin community has shown itself to resist change over the years — for example, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) fork in 2017.
As a community that prioritizes security and decentralization over functionality, adding zk-SNARKs could pose adoption challenges and risks to security due to adding what some may consider unnecessary complexity.
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