This particular release implements the proposed Taproot consensus rules ( BIP341), said the notes, without activation on mainnet. Per the release notes, it comes with "new features, various bug fixes and performance improvements, as well as updated translations." And it really is a long list of changes to peer to peer (P2P) and network, setting, tools, utilities, wallet, and other aspects - which, among other things, are meant to improve privacy, transacting, and the use of the network overall.Īmong the most significant changes are those related to Taproot, Bitcoin's largest alteration since 2017 designed to increase its privacy, which will be bundled with Schnorr, a soft fork that improves privacy, scalability, and speed, and encodes multiple keys into one. The latest Bitcoin Core is now ready for download. "Because we don't want a repeat of 2013, we have these extremely long lead times.Bitcoin Core Project announced that Bitcoin Core 0.21.0 has been released, bringing a variety of fixes and upgrades to the Bitcoin (BTC) protocol, including a step towards the much-anticipated Taproot upgrade, fee changes, a new type of testing ground, new type of wallet support, and more. That's how catastrophic stuff happens," Nic Carter, founding partner at Castle Island Ventures, told CNBC. "You don't want different clients or miners in the protocol out of sync.
#Bitcoin core taproot upgrade#
Many also remember the disastrous migration of 2013, when an upgrade gone wrong resulted in bitcoin temporarily splitting in half. "Upgrades allow the – extremely remote – possibility of a bug entering the system, which would destroy confidence in the whole cryptocurrency system, effectively wiping it out – a 'self-inflicted wound' if you like," said Jason Deane, an analyst at Quantum Economics.ĭeane says this is why upgrade processes are so carefully tested, retested, and vetted, again and again, over very long periods of time, prior to being deployed. A lot of testing ahead of time will reduce the likelihood of something going wrong during an upgrade. Though the bitcoin community has agreed to the upgrade, the rollout itself won't happen until probably November. Today, ethereum dominates as the blockchain of choice for these apps, also referred to as "dapps." Why the wait Smart contracts essentially give you the opportunity to really build applications and businesses on the blockchain."Īs more programmers build smart contracts on top of bitcoin's blockchain, there is also the potential for bitcoin to become more of a player in the world of DeFi, or decentralized finance, a term used to describe financial applications designed to cut out the middleman.
#Bitcoin core taproot driver#
"It's already the primary driver of innovation on the ethereum network. "The most important thing for Taproot is.smart contracts," said Fred Thiel, CEO of cryptocurrency mining specialist Marathon Digital Holdings.
"Lightning transactions can be fractions of a penny.while a bitcoin transaction at the core protocol layer can be much more expensive than that," explained Killeen.ĭevelopers have already begun to build on Lightning, in anticipation of the upgrade, which will allow for highly specific contracts. Smart contracts executed on the Lightning Network typically lead to faster and less costly transactions. Killeen says that this enhanced functionality and efficiency presents "mind blowing potential."Ĭurrently, smart contracts can be created both on bitcoin's core protocol layer and on the Lightning Network, a payments platform built on bitcoin, which enables instant transactions. Taproot makes smart contracts cheaper and smaller, in terms of the space they take up on the blockchain. Smart contracts can theoretically be used for practically any kind of transaction, from paying your rent each month, to registering your vehicle. These souped-up signatures are also a game changer for smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements that live on the blockchain.
It won't translate to greater anonymity for your individual bitcoin address on the public blockchain, but it will make simple transactions indistinguishable from those that are more complex and comprised of multiple signatures.
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