Exploring Simplicity: The Next Step for Bitcoin Programming

Just read an intriguing article on Simplicity, the programming language Blockstream is pushing for Bitcoin. It's meant to enhance smart contracts, which has always been a part of Bitcoin's DNA. Unlike Bitcoin Script and Miniscript, Simplicity is seen as a major evolution needing a soft fork to roll out. Pretty exciting for Bitcoin's potential, right

Totally agree! It's fascinating info for sure. Just a side note, though: I remember reading somewhere that Schnorr signatures are also coming via a soft fork with segwit version changes. Kinda similar to what the piece suggests about Simplicity's rollout... so maybe the writer missed that

Yeah, you’re spot on about Schnorr. But if they wanted to introduce a new SigHashType, I doubt they could do it as a soft fork anymore. Seems like that ship has sailed.

Not really. Adding a new script version or converting a no-op to a checksig operator could still work. SegWit and P2SH both successfully did something similar. Honestly, I think the hype around Simplicity is a bit premature. But it’s definitely a more promising direction for smart contracts than what we’ve seen before.

Checked out Blockstream's site and found a Simplicity write-up. Pretty standard stuff, just an overview by Christian Lewe. Gotta admit, I kinda lost track of this whole project. Time to catch up!

Just came across this and wonder why Taproot is still being discussed. Then I remembered it's from like two years ago. Turing completeness? Not so sure about that one.

Simplicity has a lot of cool features, like vaults on the blockchain, allowing for a grace period before a transaction completes. This can help users avoid losing funds to hackers since they’ll have time to cancel or approve transactions. With the Jet tool, Simplicity could become super practical, not just theory.

We should take a step back and question anything Blockstream suggests, given their sidechain interests. They seem to profit by limiting Bitcoin's base layer capacity.

Nah, that's a bit extreme. A company can do some things you might not like but still contribute positively. Who’s actually limiting Bitcoin's capacity? I’d argue SegWit increased it. It’s just about how much data fits in a block that led to L2 solutions popping up.

That's a choice, not an inherent network issue. Bitcoin initially had no block size cap as per the whitepaper. The limit came in later due to fears of spam attacks, which, looking back, aren't really a big deal. Just set higher minimum fees to combat that.

Oh wow, you’re into the big blocks perspective, huh? In 2022? Why not just switch to BCH then? Plenty of folks talking about it over there in the Altcoin section. This big block debate feels like old news, honestly.

If you're keen on discussing big blocks, can we keep that off this thread? It's tough enough already to keep things on track with this heated topic.

1. That’s only about hardware, not software. 2. The limitations from Moore's Law are why we’re not seeing insane CPU speeds now or 64MB Bitcoin blocks.

Wait, I could’ve sworn we saw a 12-hour wait time on transactions just yesterday with 70MB in the queue. Lightning hasn’t fixed things and it’s been around for years.

Okay, the Liquid network might not be appealing to everyone and it’s not decentralized, but that doesn’t mean Blockstream is doing everything wrong. I still prefer Miniscript because it’s simple to understand and use without needing a soft-fork.

Sure, block size decisions are complex, considering factors like hardware costs varying by country. Not everyone upgrades tech every year. Plus, some experts are saying Moore's Law might hit its limits soon.

And how is hard forking for big blocks not a conflict of interest? That’s another option for increasing on-chain transaction capacity temporarily. But it looks like demand is thriving and if Lightning wasn’t around, the backlog would be even worse.

Bringing this long-forgotten thread back to life with some news: Simplicity is still alive and kicking. It’s now on the Liquid Testnet. They also dropped news about Simfony. Great to hear, even if the timeline seems uncertain.