Taproot Bitcoin upgrade
This upgrade, which took place on Sunday morning, November 14th, focuses on the expansion of the Bitcoin network’s smart contract capabilities and improves privacy on the network
Bitcoin was set to undergo a major network upgrade, Taproot, on Nov. 14 as per data from Taproot.watch. This is the first significant upgrade since the Segregated Witness (SegWit), which eventually culminated in the development and launch of the Lightning Network in 2018. The original Taproot proposal was made by Bitcoin core contributor and former Blockstream chief training officer Gregory Maxwell on Jan 23, 2018
While the previous SegWit upgrade was aimed to resolve transaction malleability and improve the scalability of the Bitcoin network, the Taproot upgrade is targeted to improve transaction efficiency, the privacy of the network, and its ability to support smart contract initiatives. The upgrade was set into motion only after attaining a 90% consensus among the Bitcoin mining nodes on June 12, as announced by Bitcoin developer Hampus Sjöberg on Twitter. Sjöberg also made the Taproot.watch website to track the updates for the Taproot upgrade
Ben Caselin, head of research and strategy at AAX, a cryptocurrency exchange, told Cointelegraph, “The Taproot Upgrade coming to Bitcoin is among the most impactful changes to be implemented on the network. The upgrade brings smart contract functionality to the protocol, and it optimizes for cost efficiency and privacy
He also noted that the smart contract functionality coming to Bitcoin is significant even though there are so many high-performing protocols that are functioning already, stating “we have to remember that Bitcoin is the only truly non-sovereign network that offers the highest degree of network security on the planet
cointelegraph.com
