BSV Blockchain recently held a technical meetup in Mallorca, Spain to discuss some of its upcoming projects and ongoing developments. The technical meetup was organised by the team at Gate2Chain to introduce developers to the technology and teams working on ARC and LiteClient.
As part of the technical meetup, Xiaohui Liu (Founder and CEO of sCrypt) gave an overview of building smart contracts on the BSV blockchain. sCrypt is a TypeScript framework for BSV smart contracts.
The BSV blockchain supports smart contracts with its Forth-like stack-based Script language, but writing smart contracts in native Script is cumbersome and error-prone. sCrypt is designed to facilitate writing complex smart contracts running on-chain.
Understanding smart contracts
The initial Bitcoin Protocol from 2009 introduced Bitcoin Script, a comprehensive procedural language. This feature empowered users to craft customised transaction types like escrow transactions, multi-party signatures, third-party arbitration, and more. Additionally, Script facilitated intricate scenarios such as paid email or video streaming protocols with integrated micropayments, akin to IMAP or HLS.
Regrettably, Bitcoin Script fell victim to misunderstanding and was disabled in Bitcoin’s early years due to the inability of early developers to grasp its full potential. However, as Bitcoin gained traction over the years, developers delving into the source code endeavoured to reinstate these scripting capabilities.
The divergence of opinion among Bitcoin developers led to the emergence of various factions within the Bitcoin community and the creation of new blockchains championing the concept of smart contracts. Despite their popularity, these blockchains, exemplified by Ethereum, encountered scalability issues and exorbitant transaction fees for basic functions, rendering many use cases impractical.
The resurgence of the original Bitcoin protocol through the BSV blockchain brought back Bitcoin Script in a scalable form. The 2020 Genesis upgrade reintroduced these scripting language capabilities, providing a platform for innovative applications.
Self-executing digital agreements
Smart contracts deployed on Bitcoin are meticulously crafted to cater to the needs of enterprises, institutions, government agencies, and individuals, offering a comprehensive tokenisation solution that prioritises safety and security. It’s crucial to understand that while termed Bitcoin smart contracts, they aren’t strictly enforceable legal contracts; a more precise description would be “self-executing digital agreements.”
The integration of smart contract protocol into the Bitcoin blockchain is facilitated by Bitcoin sCrypt, a programming language designed to enable the seamless operation of blockchain smart contracts within the digital realm.
Several use cases
Numerous projects rely on the smart contract functionality provided by the Bitcoin network. From accounting and consulting to NFT platforms, entertainment, education, and tools aiding individual learning, Bitcoin hosts an array of projects benefiting from secure, automated business processes facilitated by smart contracts.
For instance, UNISOT ID is a decentralised ID verification platform leveraging smart contracts in its network processes. Similarly, Tokenized offers a comprehensive software suite enabling the creation of various legacy contracts, enhanced by blockchain for automation and accountability. These represent just a fraction of the applications harnessing smart contracts on Bitcoin.
In essence, outstanding decentralised application concepts can be conceived and executed with exceptional implementation on a high-performing, smart contract-powered platform like BSV blockchain.
