An in-depth interpretation of UTXO isomorphic binding technology: the new Holy Grail of capacity expansion
Original author: DaPangDun (X: @DaPangDunCrypto)
UTXO isomorphic binding technologyI think it is a very important innovation in this round of BTC ecological development. I have repeatedly stated the importance and innovation of this technology. However, I found that many people still do not understand the significance of this technology. There are issues of technical cognition and ideology, so I wrote this article to specifically explain my cognitive context and judgment about this technology.
1. The necessity of BTC expansion
Let us first think about this question:Why does BTC need to scale?
This question involves--The necessity of BTC network expansionIf this core question is not necessary, then the entire ecology is actually a false proposition.
We can explain this problem from many aspects, such as:
1) During the BTC halving cycle, miners’ income decreases, and more on-chain activities are needed to increase income and maintain network security, and more on-chain activities require ecological expansion to promote;
2) The TPS of the BTC network is very low and cannot meet the usage needs of many scenarios. A means is needed to expand and make the network more powerful;
3) The network fee of BTC is very expensive and it is not convenient for large-scale popularization. Especially as the price of BTC rises, the distance between it and ordinary people becomes further and further away, which will deviate from the original intention;
4) The operation codes that the BTC network can provide are very limited, and can only realize very few function definitions or combination operations, and the scripting language is non-Turing complete, making it extremely difficult to implement smart contracts. Therefore, a method is needed to allow it to have such capabilities. characteristic;
5) BTC data is completely public. Although technologies such as HDWALLET can be used to provide a certain degree of privacy, in most cases it is traceable and lacks privacy. Therefore, a method is needed. Enhance its privacy;
6) ......
In fact, if you want to write, you will find that there are many reasons, and some of them may not be so sufficient, but they all reflect one problem, namely:The BTC network really needs to expand!
2. Common options for BTC expansion
General expansion will select one or several of them as goals, and then design a plan to achieve such goals. Take common expansion plans as an example:
1) The idea of side chain is to build a chain yourself, most of which anchor BTC through multi-signature, and then have its own consensus mechanism on its own chain, and add some special settings of its own to realize the corresponding functions. For example, Liquid has added script opcodes, asset issuance functions, and the concept of private assets;
2) The idea of the Lightning Network is to use logical algorithms to achieve safe and fast interaction under a chain, and realize the possibility of large-scale popular payment;
3) The idea of client verification is to use one-time sealing technology and off-chain technology to put data under the chain for calculation, so that it has the ability to inherit the security of the main network and smart contracts at the same time;
4) The idea of the inscription class is to perform limited processing based on UTXO, realize the function of issuing assets, and implement other enhanced functions according to the situation;
5) Most of the ideas for compatibility with EVM are based on the alienated multi-signature bridge as the starting point, and then use a structure similar to the side chain to build an EVM-compatible chain. On this chain, the mature experience of EVM is used to build Dapp and other implementations. Floor application;
6) The idea of modularization is to refer to the development path of the EVM system and modularize the parts that may be used in BTC expansion, such as the DA layer;
7) The idea of Bitvm is to use this limited operation code to build complex functions through an idea similar to circuit;
8) ......
Of course, there are other technical routes, and new ideas (mostly micro-innovations) are constantly being launched, but generally speaking, when we understand these contexts, we can relatively quickly judge the core connotation of a new idea.
A lot of controversy has arisen over these expansions. Of course, there will always be debates in crypto, such as the debate between orthodox and unorthodox, the debate between nativeness and non-nativeness, the debate over whether BTC should be used as Gas, and the debate between long-term and implementation. Struggles, etc., and some even evolved into conflicts between communities. From the perspective of a technical researcher, I think it is “not necessary”. It is difficult for anyone to 100% predict the future results, so just follow your own value judgment to choose an approved technical route.
3. The emergence of UIB
Among many routes, the form of cross-chain bridges has been questioned to a certain extent because of its security, the first-layer asset protocol has been troubled by its limited expansion and development capabilities based on UTXO, and Bitvm needs complex construction cycles due to its tendency to Wait, EVM compatibility is considered by many people in the BTC circle to have poor legitimacy.
Is there a method that can not only reflect nativeness, ensure security, but also have high scalability?
This is UIB, full name: UTXO ISOMORPHIC BINDING
This technology takes advantage of the homology feature of the UTXO model, and can map the UTXO of target chain A to another Turing-complete UTXO chain B through one-time sealing.
This technology was proposed by Cipher, the founder of Cell Studio, and implemented in CKB.
Let’s take a closer look at such a conceptual description:
1) First of all, both parties must be based on UTXO, there is no doubt about this;
2) In principle, chain A may be non-Turing complete, otherwise it can be expanded on this chain; of course, even if it is Turing complete, this isomorphic method can also achieve native asset mapping;
3) Chain B needs to be Turing complete because the mapping process requires the constraints of chain B to verify the correctness of state calculations and the validity of changed ownership;
4) In principle, asset issuance protocols based on A-chain can use isomorphic forms to perform such mapping;
Please read the above four items carefully, and then you will find that the description of UIBs emergence is not an exaggeration!
1) In terms of nativeness, it does not have any cross-chain bridge method and is very native;
2) In terms of analysis, the B chain provides a public DA layer to provide a basis for the construction of other modules;
3) In terms of security, it is possible to achieve the same security as chain A (of course I am not particularly sure about this part, although there are relevant theoretical explanations)
4) In terms of scalability, it fully inherits the scalability performance of the B chain;
That is to say:UIB allows you to find an excellent balance between nativeness, security and scalability
Of course, its limitation is: you need to have such a B chain, as well as various component codes required to implement the protocol.
4. Narrative space of UIB
UIB has great potential in the BTC ecosystem
It allows the public chain with B-chain characteristics to become the L2 of BTC. The assets are mapped in a native way, and various expansion and development are carried out on the B-chain after mapping.
The specific context is as follows:
1) Take the recently popular RGB++ as an example. It is a new layer of asset protocol that can be mapped on CKB through UIB. At the same time, second-tier assets can also form first-tier assets through LEAP to enhance legitimacy.
2) Going further, other layer asset protocols on the BTC main network can also be isomorphic to the CKB network through UIB. This will greatly activate the funds accumulated in various current layer-one asset protocols, giving it more usage scenarios and ways to play.
UIB can connect to other UTXO chains
Going further, are there other networks that can replace the CKB network? Of course, UIB can be used as an intermediate layer protocol independent of CKB. We can isomorphize the various asset protocols above into other Turing-complete UTXO chains, and each chain can improve and expand the UIB technology protocol.
Going further, we not only have a layer of assets on the BTC network, but many other UTXO chains also have a layer of asset protocols. Although the funds or communities accumulated on them are not as large as the BTC network, they are still a huge force overall, but they are limited. Due to the design of early architectures, most of these networks do not have Turing complete capabilities, and they will also become use cases for UIB technology applications. In this way, UIB technology realizes the native connection between the assets of various chains in the UTXO world.
So, what are the OTHER TURING-COMPLETE UTXONETWORKs here?
1) Obviously, UTXO STACK, which recently announced financing, is part of it; using UTXO STACK, you can deploy chains originating from CKB with one click. These chains can inherently take advantage of UIB technology and share the security of CKB network. , pushing the CKB network to a position such as COSMOSHUB (Im not sure if my statement is appropriate);
2) More and more Turing-complete UTXO networks will be launched, and these networks will usually have their own unique characteristics to achieve extreme characterization in certain dimensions to adapt to their unique positioning properties;
3) Drawing on this idea, there will also be UTXOSTACK based on other networks. They serve other networks themselves to expand the ecosystem and enhance the status of major networks;
This group will become larger and larger, which will also allow UIB technology to be more and more widely adopted.
So, do you see this context clearly?!
5. So, what is UIB?
So, now looking at UIB, what do you think it is?
It is an intermediate layer that can isomorphize the first-level assets in each UTXO world to the second-level and allow them to enter the era of smart contracts.
It is a general technology that can be used in many places in the UTXO world to connect separate small worlds!
It is an important innovation in the development of the BTC ecosystem.
It is the new holy grail of the UTXO world.
