Unleashing the power of Bitcoin SV
Build on Bitcoin SV - Getting Started
Bitcoin SV is the only blockchain dedicated to achieving massive scale to support global usage and enterprise-level applications of all types. BSV is restoring the original Bitcoin protocol and intends to keep it stable – to enable developers and businesses to build with confidence that their applications will not be disrupted in the future.
Bitcoin SV enables the unique value propositions of micropayments, new data marketplaces on the blockchain, and a new vision of a better Internet that empowers value in user data. With these unique features, BSV will enable use cases and business models the world has never seen before.
Stability
Security
Micropayments
Developer Libraries
Scalability
Smart Contracts
Testnets
Bitcoin SV Network Layers
The network layer represents the base, peer-to-peer network where blocks are filled with data transactions and relayed to other participants.
The Metanet protocol lies atop the network layer and defines a standard on how data and transactions can be related to each other, providing a stable structure for applications and services to build from.
The application layer is made up of services offered leveraging Bitcoin SV in any way, for payments and/or data transactions.
Network Layer
The Bitcoin SV network consists of peer-to-peer transactions using the Bitcoin protocol. The protocol defines how data [whether transfer of Bitcoin monetary value, other data or both together] are sent from A to and establishes the ruleset for how transactions can be constructed. The UTXO model provides a flexible means of recording ledger entries for efficient validation and querying.
Metanet
“The Metanet is a global protocol and framework, designed by Dr. Craig Wright, for structuring and facilitating the on-chain internet for the Bitcoin SV blockchain.” – source.
The Metanet protocol defines how transactions can be related to each other via a tree structure on top of the base network. Transactions in this layer can have 0 or 1 parents, but many children. The Metanet is structured similarly to a home page on the Internet (parent) that has many clickable links below it (children) that lead further down into the site. The difference is that the Metanet sits atop the blockchain.
Application Layer
Developers should not need to know much about the Bitcoin protocol or Scripting language to build great applications on BSV. An application layer will create easy-to-use interfaces between what businesses and developers want to build, and the more complicated Bitcoin network mechanics that lie “under the hood.” Programs can leverage the money features, data structures and even each other with Bitcoin SV – since the protocol enables a global ledger for anyone to work on, the potential for interoperability between applications is unprecedented. Programs no longer need to operate solely on servers and their own databases, they can interact with other applications using the same ledger.
Links & Resources
Jack Davies – Researcher at nChain blog series on Metanet
Jack Davies – Presentation at CoinGeek Toronto on the Metanet
Bitcoin SV Developer Tools
Bitcoin as has a robust programming language named Script, where simple yet powerful smart contracts can be written. Script is implemented in a stack-based, Forth-like language, the conditions for transferring Bitcoins can be developed similar to Ethereum’s Solidity.
Examples include locking up Bitcoins until a certain date, spend conditions be dependent on supplying a secret value by a part, executing a threshold of Proof of Work and much more. Prior Bitcoin developer groups restricted those capabilities, but Bitcoin SV has finally unlocked the full power of Bitcoin Script – including to enable smart contracts.
Below are some tools that can be used for smart contract development on BSV.
sCrypt is a web-based integrated development environment (IDE) where developers can implement low-level Bitcoin script in a higher-level programming language, then extract those scripts and leverage them in their code elsewhere. The IDE has standard features such as debugging, compilation and stack management. This enables developers to write smart contracts in Bitcoin script in a much more familiar language instead of needing to learn a new one.
Bitcoin|Computer is a library for running smart contracts in JavaScript, includingon BSV. Smart contracts can be deployed on-chain via functions in JavaScript, then loaded by other entities and verified. Ownership is native, as well as sending money (Bitcoin SV) and managing tokens.
In the blockchain world, tokenization is the concept of issuing a digital token to represent real world assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate ownership as well as event and transportation tickets, loyalty points, casino chips and much more.
BSV provides an ideal platform for tokens for two reasons. First, BSV’s massive scaling roadmap supports the throughput capacity needed to support enterprise-level token needs, while keeping transaction fees extremely low (small fractions of a U.S. cent). Second, BSV stakeholders support a regulation-friendly ecosystem, and that includes support of token protocols that make it easy for token issuers to comply with securities, financial asset, and other laws of their governing jurisdictions.
Token Layers Explained
Tokenization solutions generally follow one of three ideologies:
Unwriter is a pseudonymous BSV developer who has built many plumbing tools that simplify application development. His New York based company Planaria Corp has developed too many to list, so here are articles that summarize his tools at a high level:
https://coingeek.com/_unwriters-tools-explained-practical-use-cases-reviewed/
https://coingeek.com/unwriters-tools-explained-use-cases-reviewed-part-2/
https://coingeek.com/unwriters-tools-explained-use-cases-reviewed-part-3/
Money Button provides a simple payment API that developers can easily integrate into their web page, store or application. Users of the service can simply swipe to generate a BSV transaction, deferring risk, custody and responsibility from the service provider to the product user. This results in great cost savings in the development and maintenance of businesses.
RelayX provides a payment API that implements an API for processing payments in Bitcoin SV.
Datapay is a library where you can broadcast BSV transactions in Javascript in only 4 lines of code. This Javascript library enables different types of transactions so not only can money be sent, but data as well.
Proxypay is a library for building complex transactions that can be broadcasted from any wallet. The advantage is to not limit users into using a specific wallet in your application or website.
Paypresto is a non-custodial payment service that supports complex transaction types, allowing users to pay with their preferred wallet.
TXQ – self-hosted Bitcoin SV transaction publisher, storage and UTXO indexer.
Metastreme – High-level API endpoints to send data, scripts and fetch transaction status and details.
Bitbus – A robust HTTP API endpoint to make flexible Bitquery’s against in order to receive a stream of confirmed transactions.
Operate is a toolset and protocol where developers can publish functions on-chain named ‘Ops’, implemented in the programming language Lua.
Hummingbird is a Javascript library to interface directly with a remote Bitcoin SV node for optimal transaction processing and assist managing state machines in your application.
Many code libraries have been built to enable applications to be built on top of BSV. These libraries serve to abstract low-level Bitcoin protocol functions to simple methods that developers can reference when building out their application.
The Nakasendo SDK [from nChain] serves to abstract not only lower level Bitcoin protocol functions but advanced cryptographic techniques such as encryption and threshold signatures so that developers can implement this functionality more easily. The SDK will be available in C++, JavaScript, and python.
BSV JavaScript library developed by Ryan X. Charles and the Money Button team is a comprehensive toolset for managing, building, signing and broadcasting Bitcoin SV transactions.
Bitsv is a library for similar functionality as the BSV library, implemented in python.
bitcoinj-sv is an (unfinished) Java implementation of the Bitcoin SV protocol.
Rust-SV is a Rust implementation of the Bitcoin SV protocol.
bsvd – Golang implementation of the Bitcoin SV protocol.
go-bitcoin is a wrapper library to the Bitcoin SV RPC.
KzBsv is a work in progress C# library for Bitcoin SV.
Gigamonkey – A C++ library with basic Bitcoin SV functions.
BSV-ex is a Bitcoin SV library implemented in Elixir.
bsv-minimal is a lean reimplementation of the BSV library in Javascript, optimized to process big blocks efficiently.
dartsv – is a Bitcoin library for the Dart language, built in line with the ideals of Bitcoin SV – on-chain scaling, unlocked scripting, and original protocol implementation. A guide for this library is available here.
Twetch SDK is a JavaScript library that has a CLI (Command Line Interface), built-in wallet and API for interacting with the social media platform.
BitcoinFiles is a JS library that abstracts the interaction with the B:\ files protocol. Developers can easily create and query files, while also being able to sign files with the AIP (Author Identity Protocol).
Handcash Connect is an SDK that seeks to simplify Bitcoin development. The SDK makes common functions available via a high-level API for developers to interact with.
TonicPow is an ad platform and framework enabling peer-to-peer advertising where promoters can offer advertisements and incentivize curation by paying per click in Bitcoin SV. TonicPow have various development tools that can be easily integrated in your website.
BitBtn is a UI button for interacting with Bitcoin SV wallets written in pure JavaScript.
MatterPool provide a robust infrastructure platform where developers can perform various API calls to manage UTXOs, broadcast transactions, query address balances and more. MatterPool offers SDKs, libraries and tools to help developers manage their transactions.
Electrum ECIES is a JS/Golang library to encrypt and decrypt data simply in only 1 line of code.
Metaglue is a platform for building Metanet applications, accounting for standard wallet functionality and structuring data.
Planter is a JS library for creating, managing and traversing Metanet nodes.
Polyglot is a Python library for interacting with Bitcoin protocols.
Testnets operate as a separate BSV network that has all the same functionality as the Mainnet, except coins transacted on them have no value. Testnets serve to provide a stable testing environment for applications such that developers do not have spent actual BSV coins before deploying their service to the Mainnet.
WhatsOnChain has a testnet block explorer with much of the same functionality as their Mainnet one.
The BSV Scaling TestNet operates specifically to enable testing of larger block sizes and high sustained transaction volume. The STN was created in order to segregate network scaling testing from the “normal” testnet whose purpose is for application development. This network is necessary to achieve the massive scale that Bitcoin SV intends to achieve.
A blockchain explorer is an interface to a Bitcoin node where information about all blocks mined, transactions and addresses can be viewed, aggregated or extracted. Other information about the Bitcoin SV network can be viewed such as current hashrate, price and difficulty. Optionally block explorers may provide APIs for developers to interface with in order to query and broadcast transactions against from their applications.
WhatsOnChain is a BSV-exclusive block explorer that has all the standard features of a blockchain explorer as mentioned above. They have also implemented a robust public API that developers can hook into – as well as Testnet and STN support. Developers can query various statistics, get address balances and more.
Other blockchain explorers which support BSV include:
The Genesis Hard Fork Upgrade was the biggest consensus hard fork in Bitcoin history and happened on February 4th, 2020 – which is 11 years, 1 month and 1 day from the date Bitcoin’s Genesis block was created on January 3, 2009.
Genesis Hard Fork information/resources are available here:
https://bitcoinsv.io/genesis-hard-fork/
Genesis Upgrade Specifications on GitHub:
https://github.com/bitcoin-sv-specs/protocol/blob/master/updates/genesis-spec.md
Flex Your Coding Skills And Build On Bitcoin SV
The Bitcoin Association organized another successful virtual Hackathon, as it set the stage for developers to build new applications on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. Our 3rd BSV Hackathon took place entirely online from June 23 to August 18, 2020, with participants from all over the world. Selected finalists presented their applications at the virtual CoinGeek LIVE Conference last September 30 to October 2, 2020
