bitcoin-dev

Swift Activation - CTV

Swift Activation - CTV

Original Postby Erik Aronesty

Posted on: January 2, 2024 14:32 UTC

The recent discussion on the CTV (CheckTemplateVerify) proposal highlights its potential benefits and overlooked concerns within the Bitcoin community.

The acknowledgment that CTV excels in vaulting signifies recognition of its utility in improving security mechanisms for stored bitcoins, allowing users to set conditions for the spending of their coins. Moreover, the contribution of CTV to reducing costs associated with onboarding users onto the Lightning Network is evident, which speaks to its usefulness in facilitating cheaper and more efficient layer-two solutions.

Despite these acknowledged advantages, there seems to be a blind spot in the conversation regarding an underlying issue with CTV that remains unaddressed. This elephant in the room pertains to a safety concern that is not explicitly mentioned or debated among developers and enthusiasts. It is crucial to note that the nonrecursive nature of CTV and the possibility of using BIP8—a method for coordinated upgrades to the Bitcoin protocol—for its activation have been recognized as non-issues, suggesting a degree of readiness for its implementation.

Furthermore, the presence of alternative cryptocurrencies, commonly referred to as 'shitcoins', already on the Bitcoin network has been dismissed as a non-concern, particularly with reference to Sapio, a smart contract language designed for Bitcoin (accessible at https://github.com/sapio-lang/sapio). This indicates that the discomfort with CTV does not stem from a fear of complexity or introduction of unwanted elements into Bitcoin's ecosystem.

The communication also reveals that there are numerous other use cases for CTV that have been elaborated upon in various resources such as utxos.org. These applications extend beyond the ones typically highlighted, suggesting that the full breadth of CTV's capabilities may not be widely recognized or appreciated. The resistance or hesitancy towards embracing CTV appears to be rooted in issues that remain unspecified, calling for a deeper exploration and open dialogue about the latent apprehensions surrounding its deployment within the Bitcoin infrastructure.