In this release we’ve added RBTC to Edge!
RBTC is a very unique asset on our platform. Most of the assets on our platform, besides the Ethereum based tokens, can be thought of as independent assets on independent networks. RBTC, in contrast, is used on the smart contract platform Rootstock(RSK), which is a sidechain of the BTC “mainchain”. A sidechain would be considered a separate but dependent network.
Many in the BTC development community like sidechains because they allow developers to freely experiment without changing the Bitcoin blockchain which can be dangerous and highly contentious.
A Bitcoin sidechain allows a holder of BTC to lock up funds in the Bitcoin blockchain and be credited the same amount in a BTC side-chain, use that network with its native asset, and then be able to exchange those units back into the original locked up BTC. Users might move their assets over into a sidechain to take advantage of some of the extended features and capabilities that aren’t available on Bitcoin blockchain.
The RSK sidechain enhances the usefulness of BTC by providing a Turing-complete Virtual Machine (RVM) which allows complex smart-contracts to be constructed and utilized. These smart contracts could be used for escrow services, asset creation, securitization, microlending, decentralized exchange and many more use cases.
In addition the RVM is highly compatible with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine meaning whatever can be built or has been built on Ethereum can be built on RSK. Any and all dapps and assets created on Ethereum can be recreated on the RSK sidechain with the security of the Bitcoin network.
RSK sidesteps the security vs functionality trade-off leveraging the incredible security provided by Bitcoin miners and building a complementary network that dramatically extends the capabilities of what can be done with BTC, the asset. RSK effectively separates the security and functionality tradeoff allowing BTC to keep its small attack surface while giving holders of BTC more functionality on the Rootstock sidechain.
In the not too distant future the Edge platform will support RSK based tokens in a similar manner to our current support for Ethereum based ERC-20 tokens.
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