Bitcoin and proof of stake have a natural synergy: Bitcoin Builders 2023

[ad_1]

Less than a year after proof-of-stake (PoS) became the consensus mechanism for the Ethereum blockchain, the industry’s top blockchain network researchers have discovered that PoS can complement Bitcoin.

Stanford University Professor David Ts spoke to Cointelegraph at the 2023 Bitcoin Builders Conference in Miami, Florida about his teams’ findings on Bitcoin, PoS, security and energy consumption .

Cointelegraph Reporter Joe Hall and Stanford University Professor David Ts at Bitcoin Builders 2023. Source: Cointelegraph

Ts runs a research lab specializing in blockchain consensus protocols at Stanford University in California. He said the first consensus protocol reviewed was the Bitcoin Proof of Work (PoW) protocol.

Bitcoin was like our first love, he said. With this in-depth understanding of Bitcoin and then an understanding of PoS protocols, he went on to say that his team found a very natural synergy between the two.

By building an additional layer of protocol that shares security between Bitcoin and PoS, we find that it will become very strong, giving you a very strong security property.

Ts pointed out that on its own, the PoS blockchain has two major limitations: because it is based on proof of stake, or capital, it is difficult to start a new blockchain due to the need to attract stakers. He said, if you don’t have capital, you don’t have enough security.

In addition to the intertwining of security and capital, the Stanford professor also pointed out that security is what he calls the short range on POS, while Bitcoin is the opposite, with long term security. stronger reach, making them the perfect complement to each other.

He wants this so that users can build distributed ledger applications in an easier way:

Security is very important, but instead of everyone trying to fragment and compete for limited capital, take capital from a huge pool which is Bitcoin, and use it as economic security for all these chains.

In such a method, Ts envisions that developers can focus on building the application, which is the primary goal of building a blockchain network, rather than recruiting participation to secure the chain.

Related: Bitcoin Self-Custody Advocate Explains Why On-Ramps Are Key to Adoption

One of the main obstacles to building Bitcoin and PoW systems in general has been the power consumption associated with these protocols. Ts said Bitcoin’s bad reputation for energy consumption makes it difficult to explain to the next generation of students.

However, Ts says he believes the important thing is not just to look at the energy consumed, but the why of the consumption.

Without energy, there is no security. Without security, there is no value. In a certain sense, what we are doing now, from a technological point of view, is to use this higher value energy.

He highlighted security as one of Bitcoins most valuable assets and highlighted new projects like Bitcoin Ordinals leveraging this security.

What makes Ordinals interesting on Bitcoin, as opposed to any other platform, is that they are built on the most secure blockchain in the world.

Recently, Bitcoin non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have swept the crypto space, causing so much hype and skepticism about whether they are good for Bitcoin. Some thought leaders in the field think they will fade away, but on the other hand, Binances NFT Marketplace added Bitcoin NFT offerings on May 9.

On the same day, registrations for Bitcoin Ordinals had almost doubled in just over a week, almost hitting the 4.8 million mark.

Magazine: Ordinals Turned Bitcoin into a Worse Version of Ethereum: Can We Fix It?

[ad_2]