Blockstack unveiled a novel consensus mechanism for piggyback blockchains called Proof of Transfer (PoX) on Feb. 6. Instead of relying on its own proof of work, miners under PoX commit Bitcoin (BTC), which circulates in the ecosystem. The system will be used in Blockstack’s proposed Stacks 2.0 blockchain, which is set for release later in 2020. The Proof of Transfer mechanism was devised to piggyback on the security of Bitcoin, while allowing complex interactions between stakeholders within the Stacks ecosystem. Cointelegraph spoke with Muneeb Ali, Blockstack’s CEO, to learn more about the proposed mechanism. Not a sidechain There are several …

The non-profit research organization Plasma Group announced in a Jan. 9 blog post that it would cease studying Ethereum scalability. Identifying funding of public goods as the next key challenge, it pledged to donate its remaining funds to Gitcoin. Plasma Group was founded in Jan. 2019 with the goal of pushing research toward Ethereum scalability solutions based on Plasma technology. It received funding from a variety of organizations including the Ethereum Foundation, ConsenSys, OmiseGo, Matic Network and Gitcoin. The non-profit used this money to conduct research into solving practical obstacles for layer-two scaling solutions. The team identified several of its …

Bitcoin (BTC) technology pioneer Adam Back explained at the Transylvania Crypto Conference that there’s a greater financial incentive to creating altcoins compared to building on Bitcoin. Forbes reported Back’s remarks on Oct. 21, noting that he is also the co-author of the “Enabling Blockchain Innovations with Pegged Sidechains” paper about Bitcoin sidechains released about five years ago. In the document, he and his fellow researchers first expressed the idea that Bitcoin’s sidechains will have substantial advantages over altcoins. It is worth mentioning that Back’s Blockstream is the company that launched the Liquid Bitcoin sidechain. In July, Blockstream also launched a …

Almost $77 million of Bitcoin (BTC) is currently unavailable to use on the network — not because it is lost, but because it is locked up in sidechains. Bitcoin sidechains: a nascent market Data from block explorers confirms that as of Oct. 17, a total of 9,661 BTC ($76.96 million) or a tiny 0.054% of today’s Bitcoin supply resides in three major sidechain projects. Sidechains are separate blockchains tied to a cryptocurrency’s regular blockchain, i.e. mainchain. Users can interact with it via a pegging mechanism; they send funds to and from the sidechain, with security features ensuring coins are not …

Bitcoin (BTC) users can now take advantage of the Lightning Network while sending coins on Blockstream’s Liquid sidechain. Bitcoin’s Lightning Network designed to work across multiple chains Following the debut of support for stablecoin Tether (USDT) on Liquid, Blockstream CEO Adam Back confirmed on Twitter that the technology can also support Lightning payments. Using a combination of Lightning and Liquid allows users to benefit from the speed and low cost of off-chain transfers, along with the specific advantages of Liquid itself. “It's not so widely known but Lightning protocol is designed to work across multiple chains,” Back wrote July 30. …

Tether is now running on a sidechain of Bitcoin’s blockchain. While Tether has traditionally operated on the Omni Layer of Bitcoin, the United States dollar-backed stablecoin has begun spreading to other blockchain protocols this month. Most recently, Tether is now being offered on blockchain company BlockStream’s Liquid Network sidechain, according to an official announcement on July 29. According to the announcement, Liquid-based Tether — called Liquid USDT — is being offered immediately for deposits and withdrawals on Bitfinex. Additionally, the staff at Liquid are reportedly developing support for Liquid USDT on a number of other affiliated crypto exchanges, including OKEx, …

Blockchain software development BlockStream announced that its mobile wallet, Green Wallet, now supports the firm’s Liquid Network sidechain in a blog post published on July 5. Per the announcement, users of the wallet can now store, send and receive Liquid Bitcoin (L-BTC) and Issued Assets on the Liquid sidechain. The Liquid Network project, first discussed in 2015 and launched in October 2018, aims to allow for faster transactions with Bitcoin (BTC) between businesses and individuals with the use of its features. Bitcoin transactions on to the sidechain, where it moves as bitcoin liquid, are reportedly also more private: “L-BTC transactions …

Blockchain infrastructure firm Blockstream has launched a new tool that allows users to execute atomic swaps for all assets supported by the Liquid network, according to an announcement published on July 1. The Liquid Network is a federated sidechain on the bitcoin (BTC) blockchain that functions as a settlement and payments network for crypto exchanges, market makers, brokers, and other financial institutions. In addition to its support for privacy features such as Confidential Transactions, the network aims to combat delayed transaction finality on the bitcoin (BTC) network and allow for rapid and secure transfers so that traders can efficiently maximize …

Japanese blockchain development company Crypto Garage announced it had gained regulatory permission to trial its settlement system using Blockstream’s Liquid Sidechain, Cointelegraph Japan reported Jan. 21. Crypto Garage, which claimed to be the first such blockchain finance project to get the green light under the Japanese government’s regulatory sandbox scheme, will now conduct a one-year pilot with a group of participating cryptocurrency exchanges. The product, dubbed Settlenet, uses Liquid as part of an arrangement allowing exchanges to issue yen-pegged stablecoins and trade against Liquid Bitcoin (L-BTC), Blockstream’s sidechain. The feature also makes use of so-called ‘atomic swaps,’ the ability to …

The Liquid Network sidechain for the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain went live on Sept. 27, according to an Oct. 10 post from Blockstream. Blockstream is a blockchain development company founded in 2014, with Samson Mow as its current CSO. The Liquid Network project, first discussed in 2015, was then launched in October 2018 in order to allow for better liquidity between Bitcoin exchanges and brokers. According to Blockstream’s blog post, the Liquid blockchain generated its first block on Sept. 27, 2018 at 1:29 UTC with participation from 23 crypto industry members including Bitfinex, OKCoin, BitMEX, and the SIX Digital Exchange. The …

Recently BlockStream released a teaser about an innovative new technology called “pegged sidechains” that would allow public ledgers of various cryptocurrencies to transfer between multiple blockchains. The whitepaper describing this new technology has just been released by BlockStream today. The white paper describes the central idea, its implementation requirements and the things that need to be done to get the most benefit from fully implemented interconnected blockchains. “We propose a new technology, pegged sidechains,” reads the abstract, “which enables bitcoins and other ledger assets to be transferred between multiple blockchains.” It continues: “This gives users access to new and innovative …