The New Era of Bitcoin Technology Development

Bitcoin has gone through 11 years since its inception, and its underlying technology has been continuously evolving. The year 2020 will be a key year for the development of Bitcoin technology, with multiple innovative technologies expected to be implemented, further enhancing the performance and functionality of the Bitcoin network.

In recent years, the number of senior developers of the Bitcoin core protocol has decreased, raising some concerns within the community. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that, aside from price fluctuations, the Bitcoin ecosystem is quietly undergoing exciting transformations. Over the past few years, the Bitcoin blockchain has added many innovative features, and more new characteristics will be launched in 2020.

In 2019, a new script compiler called Miniscript was introduced, which significantly enhances the programmability of the Bitcoin blockchain without compromising security. In addition, several important technical proposals are being advanced:

1. Schnorr Signature: A brand new signature scheme
2. MAST: An innovative Merkle tree data structure
3. Taproot: A method that allows participants to reach consensus on the transaction outcome and sign.

The combination of these three technologies will greatly enhance the substitutability and privacy protection capabilities of Bitcoin. Let's take a closer look at these innovative technologies.

MAST Technology

MAST stands for Merkle Abstract Syntax Tree, which allows the locking of Bitcoin using different scripts linked to the same Merkle tree. In short, MAST utilizes the properties of the Merkle tree, ensuring that any tampering of a node will result in a change in the root node, thus guaranteeing the integrity of the data.

MAST is essentially the application of Merkle tree technology to P2SH (Pay to Script Hash) scripts. It enables a set of Bitcoins to be associated with multiple scripts containing different unlocking conditions. This greatly enhances the flexibility and scalability of Bitcoin smart contracts while also improving user privacy.

Taproot Technology

Taproot introduces smart contract-like functionality to the Bitcoin network, allowing users to add complex logic to simple payment scripts. It is compatible with P2SH, enabling scripts to be split into independent sets of statements that only reveal the parts actually used.

One important feature of this technology is that all transactions appear completely consistent regardless of which blockchain explorer is used, greatly enhancing transaction privacy. Taproot can also simplify the multi-signature process into a single signature, significantly improving the efficiency of Schnorr signatures.

Schnorr Signature

Schnorr signatures were invented by German cryptographer Claus-Peter Schnorr in the 1980s. This signature scheme is particularly suitable for the Bitcoin network, as it can aggregate multiple signatures into one, greatly simplifying the multi-signature process.

Compared to traditional multi-signatures, Schnorr signatures allow each signer to have their own message instead of sharing the same message. For validators, Schnorr signatures do not leak any information about the inputs, making the transaction outputs look like a regular address.

Compared to the currently used ECDSA signature technology, Schnorr signatures are easier to verify, while providing higher correctness, flexibility, and stability.

Although the price of Bitcoin may experience short-term fluctuations, the continuous advancement of its underlying technology is the real focus worth paying attention to. These innovations will lay a solid foundation for the future development of Bitcoin, just as that slogan says: "Everything is possible".