BitVM Bridge Successfully Executed on Bitcoin Mainnet for the First Time

An important technological breakthrough has recently been achieved on the Bitcoin Mainnet. The development team successfully demonstrated real-time use cases for two BitVM bridges, which not only showcased the full functionality and security of the BitVM bridges but also proved their effectiveness in handling Non-Standard Transactions (NSTs). This has been one of the main challenges faced by the BitVM bridges.

On March 31, the development team demonstrated the potential of BitVM for the first time on a dedicated testnet. To prototype on the testnet, the team had to modify the Bitcoin core client to accommodate non-standard transactions that are typically larger than 400KB. Overcoming the NST issue on the Mainnet is the final key step in product development.

Recently, the development team has established strategic partnerships with multiple mining pools, dedicated to addressing the NST challenges. Excitingly, the APIs of these mining pools have successfully processed the first batch of real-time NSTs from the BitVM bridge in response to genuine user requests.

In this execution of two complete BitVM bridge use cases on the Bitcoin Mainnet, one case involves handling two different NSTs: Assert transactions and Disprove transactions. This demonstration powerfully showcases the capabilities of the BitVM bridge and the success of collaboration with mining pools.

Mainnet Live Demonstration

Roles in the demonstration

To illustrate the working mechanism of the bridge, this Mainnet demonstration includes:

• Recharge users: Start the process by bridging BTC to Ethereum.
• Two Brokers:
  • Broker A (malicious): attempting to steal funds through invalid withdrawal requests.
  • Broker B (Honest): Initiates a legitimate withdrawal process.

Preparation: Deposit and create bridge instance

1. The user deposits 0.0001 BTC into the BitVM smart contract.
2. Subsequently, the charging user minted 0.0001 Peg-BTC on the Ethereum network (YBTC).

Case 1: Optimistic Withdrawals of Honest Brokers

This scene demonstrates the process of an honest Broker successfully retrieving their BTC and collateral after destroying their Peg-BTC on Ethereum.

1. Broker B has destroyed its YBTC on the Ethereum.
2. Broker B sent a Kickoff transaction on Bitcoin to initiate a withdrawal request.
3. After the predefined timeout, Broker B successfully retrieved its BTC and collateral through a HappyTake transaction.

This case verifies the optimistic withdrawal path of honest participants.

Case 2: Rejection of Invalid Withdrawal Request

This key scenario demonstrates the robustness of the security model. A malicious Broker (Broker A) attempts to steal funds, but the fraud proof protocol involving NSTs successfully thwarted this attack.

1. Broker A initiated an invalid withdrawal request by sending a Kickoff transaction.
2. An honest observer detected fraudulent activity and sent a Challenge transaction, forcing Broker A into the "pessimistic path" of the fraud proof protocol.
3. Broker A is forced to reveal all intermediate values of the validator data block. This step involves an Assert transaction, which is an NST successfully processed by the cooperating mining pool.
4. The observer ran all the data blocks offline and identified an incorrect one, then sent a Disprove transaction to replay the erroneous data block on the chain. The Disprove transaction is also an NST and was successfully processed again on the Mainnet.

This case clearly demonstrates the ability of the BitVM bridge to penalize malicious actors and protect user funds, which is crucially supported by the Mainnet's handling of NSTs such as Assert transactions and Disprove transactions.

The successful live demonstration on the Bitcoin Mainnet this time is an important milestone. It validates the strength of the relevant technology, partnerships with mining pools, and the commitment to building a truly scalable, secure, and trustless Bitcoin infrastructure. This paves the way for a new generation of decentralized financial applications on Bitcoin.