Innovation in Technology
Friday, July 26. 9:30 AM
Originally led by Blockstream Research, developer Fabian Jahr recently received funding from the Human Rights Foundation to further investigate this area. He will be accompanied on stage by well-respected wallet developers Craig Raw of Sparrow Wallet and Jameson Lopp of Casa. This conversation is expected to thoroughly explore the technical intricacies of CISA and its potential to improve Bitcoin’s privacy attributes.
Privacy has consistently been a foundational element of the Bitcoin philosophy, and recent occurrences have highlighted its significance. The apprehension of developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill in April reverberated throughout the Bitcoin community. Longstanding figures in the ecosystem, both were passionate defenders of Bitcoin users’ privacy rights. Now that the situation has stabilized, uncertainties remain regarding the broader implications of this case for open-source developers globally.
The core idea is to enable transactions to merge signatures from various inputs into a single signature, consequently minimizing their total size and thus their cost. The concept re-emerged in recent conversations regarding the essential privacy enhancements needed within the Bitcoin protocol. Some experts have proposed that lowering the cost of collaborative, multi-input transactions like coinjoin may promote greater usage of privacy mechanisms.
The intellectual caliber gathered for this talk is remarkable. There’s a reason BitVM has generated significant discussion since developer Robin Linus introduced it last year. The proposal has successfully attracted a notable gathering of innovators and thinkers intrigued by the idea of integrating fraud-proofs into Bitcoin.
This topic might be somewhat niche but is likely to attract interest from the more technically inclined audience. Cross-input signature aggregation, or CISA, is a concept that has circulated in Bitcoin discussions for several years and was once considered part of the Taproot upgrade.
Veteran lawyer Tor Ekeland, who represented Roman Sterlingov in the prominent “Bitcoin fog” mixer case, will join other panelists to address the US Department of Justice’s “abusive crypto prosecutions and the blockchain surveillance state.” This panel is set to provide a critical analysis of the legal environment affecting Bitcoin privacy and the possible deterrent impacts on innovation and development.
Friday, July 26. 10:00 AM
Previously, I analyzed the competition surrounding BitVM and other supposed layer 2 solutions. The enthusiasm around Bitcoin script has reached unprecedented levels. Advancements brought about by earlier soft forks such as Taproot and SegWit have led to numerous initiatives, particularly sparked by the Ordinals phenomenon. As expected, discussions have begun to shift towards what lies ahead.
Enhancing expressivity with OP_CAT
Concerns for Privacy
Base58’s creator and the beloved Bitcoin educator Niftynei (Lisa) will aim to establish the agenda on Friday morning by moderating a panel concerning the widely-recognized OP_CAT soft fork proposal. The buzz surrounding this script enhancement proposal remains strong, and Bitcoin developers are increasingly expressing their enthusiasm for CAT and its unique capabilities.
Bitcoin developers will aim to capitalize on the excitement surrounding “Bitcoin Season 2” in Nashville, continuing their efforts to explore Bitcoin’s programmability.
Friday, July 26. 1:30 PM
BitVM: Advancing innovation without a soft fork
I anticipate that co-panelists Andrew Poelstra, Director of Research at Blockstream, along with fellow developers Rjindel & Brandon Black, will present a compelling argument for this adaptable script enhancement.
Enhancing Bitcoin’s Privacy with CISA
Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
With no operational implementation as of yet, the pressure is mounting for many of its advocates who have been vocal about its promise. The distinguished panel of developers should provide us with updates on its advancement and potentially clarify the hype around it.
