Following the success of the CoinGeek Toronto 2019 conference in May, all of the powerful information disseminated is still sinking in with attendees. There was a lot to cover and the experts on hand did an excellent job packing it all in. Dr. Craig Wright was on hand to reveal many of the truths behind Bitcoin and to discuss where it’s going. A presentation on Bitcoin scripts was a look into how coding on the Bitcoin blockchain is coming full circle, being put back to its original state thanks to Bitcoin SV (BSV).
Bitcoin Core developers were the first to believe that they had a better idea of how the cryptocurrency blockchain should be designed. They didn’t agree with what was laid out in the Bitcoin whitepaper, or just wanted to create their own versions, and began introducing changes that actually went against the grain of Bitcoin’s design.
Now that BSV has been able to prove that virtually everything Satoshi wrote in his Bitcoin whitepaper is true, crypto enthusiasts are coming around and Bitcoin is able to continue to mature as it was initially planned. This is going to be seen in the coding practices, as well. Wright asserts that, by next year, all the original scripting in Bitcoin will return. Put simply, it will because it should have never been taken out.
The original coding allows for the creation of a unique society based on a single set of guidelines, not different sets based on different opinions of what is necessary. BTC’s SegWit and Lightning Network are perfect examples of how differing opinions dissolve the singular concept of a blockchain, and how continuity—a necessary component of any financial system—is lost when there isn’t common agreement.
One of the most contentious bits of code in crypto has been OP_RETURN. It’s coming back and it allows for a range of functions that will make BSV even more flexible. It is the basis for many underlying actions and command, and “allows the use of OP_CODESEPARATOR [OCS] to allow OP_RETURN to jump from one OCS to another.” (1:14) It is visible to OP_CHECKSIG, which can then locate where the next OCS is found in the script, which can then read a transaction’s signature and extract parts of it as needed.
The coding uniformity provides an array of functions to make it easier for developers to create seamless applications that can talk to each other. The updates to the Bitcoin coding will be backwards compatible and offer enhanced security, allowing for “provably unspendable transaction output.” (10:54) With just a simple insertion of “<0>” before OP_RETURN, security is increased and, by rule, OP_RETURN cannot exist in the unlocking script of the transaction.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a system that is easier to use and easier to create, and which have real value. This was the plan for Bitcoin and it is finally being realized through BSV.
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