One of the developers working on “BitVM” — a Bitcoin-based virtual machine — reiterates the tech is intended to scale Bitcoin rather than launching Ethereum-like decentralized finance applications on the network.
BitVM’s whitepaper was released by ZeroSync’s project lead Robin Linus on Oct. 10 with technical support provided by pseudonymous developer “Super Testnet” — implementing BitVM’s first proof-of-concept and working on expanding BitVM’s capabilities.
Upon its release, some industry pundits formed the impression that BitVM would bring DeFi to Bitcoin like what the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) did for Ethereum.
Lightning also fall short in the scaling department. It’s nowhere near solving scalability.
We need more complementary things.
> this is just another defi on bitcoin attempt.
Again, the motivation behind BitVM by the author was not DeFi. It was scaling.
— Hampus (@hampus_s) October 12, 2023
However, Super Testnet tells Cointelegraph that BitVM is scaling-focused rather than being about implementing smart contracts and an avalanche of altcoins:
“The real killer app is scaling Bitcoin. [Robin Linus isn’t] a big fan of smart contracts. He’s not a big fan of increasing Bitcoin’s expressivity. He really is interested in making it so that Bitcoin can process millions of transactions per second.”
Super Testnet said he doesn’t want BitVM to be flooded with (EVM)-like tokens because it’ll bring bad actors to Bitcoin:
“I don’t want to see everything from the Ethereum ecosystem because most of it is Ponzi schemes.”
Building a decentralized exchange on Bitcoin would be a “step backward,” he added.
Meanwhile, Super Testnet notes that BitVM won’t be an “instant death” for Ethereum’s altcoins, which some have suggested — though it could take demand away from them.
Hot Off the Press: BitVM White Paper Drops! Experience a groundbreaking computing approach for smart contracts on #Bitcoin
Unlock functionalities previously assumed to demand a soft fork with these enhanced smart contracts.
Could this be the end of #altcoins? pic.twitter.com/1GA43VE7If
— RichQuack…..
