There is no doubt that as a decentralized and secure blockchain network, the core value of Bitcoin is a "digital gold" value store in the minds of the public. However, this may be the "tip of the iceberg" of its potential.

Bitcoin's huge liquidity and trust foundation can serve as the core pillars of many innovative use cases, but to realize these visions, the existing infrastructure is clearly insufficient to support. Bitcoin needs to break through its architectural limitations and embrace scalability and programmability in order to occupy a more prominent role in Web3.

Infrastructure and developer empowerment

Achieving the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem and technological breakthroughs is the key. For example, Layer 2 and sidechain solutions can bring efficient and secure scalability to Bitcoin, allowing developers to implement more complex use cases on the Bitcoin network. However, technology itself is not enough; acceptance by developers and users is equally important.

(The picture shows the real-time ranking of Layer 2 displayed on the OKLink official website)

Currently, many developers still face problems such as lack of tools and incomplete documentation. Users also need a deeper understanding of how to obtain benefits through new ecological mechanisms. Only through the joint promotion of technology and education can the potential of the Bitcoin ecosystem be truly activated.

Release value from storage to creation

The future Bitcoin ecosystem is not only about “holding "So simple, but as a platform to create value. With stronger technical infrastructure and developer support, Bitcoin can become the core platform for real-world asset tokenization, cross-chain and high-performance decentralized applications. These innovations will bring a new growth curve to Bitcoin while also providing more opportunities for users and developers around the world.

How does data infrastructure promote ecological development?

OKLink Product Director Simon said that OKLink is committed to promoting the bridging and integration of the Bitcoin ecosystem. To unlock Bitcoin’s full potential, data infrastructure, led by browsers, needs to take on the responsibility of facilitating the integration and bridging of these new technologies. By creating the most trustworthyThe miniaturized bridging technology improves the scalability of Bitcoin and ensures the safe flow of assets between Bitcoin and other chains.

Taking OKLink’s BTC Layer 2 dashboard function as an example, it can provide detailed data charts of TVL, cross-chain transaction volume, number of transactions and address dimensions to help Users can easily view various Layer 2 solutions and their on-chain and off-chain data, and efficiently explore the potential of 68 public chains.

https://www.oklink.com/zh-hans/btc-layer2

What do industry experts think about the future ecological direction?

Recently, OKLink and its partner Bitlayer jointly hosted a conference on "Challenges and Possibilities of Integrating Bitcoin with Other Ecosystems through Layer 2 or Sidechain Solutions" In the special AMA, OKLink partners and leading ecological projects B² Network, Fractal and Rooch Network were guests and shared their unique insights based on their own practical experience.

What are the key infrastructure requirements to support Layer 2 and sidechain solutions and how Facilitate its integration with other ecosystems?

Charlie@Bitlayer: The demand exists, but the infrastructure is missing

Although we have various compatible Side chain technology and virtual machine ecology, but these side chains do not provide secure feedback to the Bitcoin main chain, and they are not essentially native second-layer networks. Transactions bridged to the side chain through transactions do not technically return to the Bitcoin main chain, and therefore cannot achieve the same level of security as the main chain. This creates a trust assumption - you need to socially trust the cluster of validators on the sidechain to be safe. Once an extreme problem occurs in the side chain, it will be difficult or even impossible for the user's assets to be withdrawn from the side chain and returned to the Bitcoin main chain.

There are also economic reasons. The overall transaction fee of the Bitcoin network in the second quarter of 2024 was 80 Bitcoins, while in the third quarter there were only 10 Bitcoins. . Obviously, the minersThe entire business model is based on the growth of Bitcoin price and market capitalization. The higher the price, the greater the demand for miners because of the block rewards. But if there are no transaction fees on the Bitcoin main chain, for example, no one pays the handling fees when transferring Bitcoin, miners’ income will gradually decrease, which is detrimental to the entire ecosystem.

This question is actually the "elephant in the room." The solution is that we need a layer 2 network that is equivalent to the security of Bitcoin, while building a programmability center around the layer 2 network.

As more and more new users hope to earn revenue, this demand is obvious. This is consistent with a basic tenet of modern finance: when you own an asset, you don't want to sell it, but rather take out a mortgage or other means to obtain the proceeds.

Phoenix@B² Network: Super early, rising tide lifts all boats

Bitcoin is the most popular in the entire crypto field The project with the highest brand awareness and the easiest acceptance by non-crypto users. We sometimes focus so much on the internal perspective that we miss the broader market outside – people outside of the crypto space are actually a much larger group of potential users.

I think the problem is not to compete with each other in the same space, but to find more ways to attract new users. But it is clear that there are still deficiencies in current infrastructure, so scaling solutions are urgently needed.

This is why we chose to build L2 on Bitcoin, while striving to retain the core advantages of Bitcoin - the most decentralized and secure. We are starting to see more traditional financial institutions gradually enter this space. Another example is Coinbase, whose app is once again the most downloaded app in the App Store. As the old saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” I’m very optimistic about the future and can’t wait to see what happens.

(The picture shows the statistics of active addresses on the OKLink official website)

Simon@OKLink: "Sustainable" user experience

Some of Bitcoin’s infrastructure does play a key role effect. But there’s still a lot to be desired in terms of sustainability and user experience. That's why it's earlySome developers in this period may have been active for a while and then moved to other ecosystems with more friendly development tools.

However, with the emergence of L2 and more development tools, we can now see the tools and platforms in the Bitcoin ecosystem becoming more prosperous. I believe that driven by these innovative applications and solutions, user experience will be significantly improved.

In terms of tool development, we cooperate with multiple blockchain networks and also focus on Bitcoin native development to better serve the entire ecosystem. Evolve and learn from it.

The last point is about community popularity and promotion. We are committed to deeply interacting with users through various activities to help them understand the ease of use and security of Bitcoin, while exploring how to seamlessly connect Bitcoin to other ecosystems.

What is the biggest obstacle for developers and early adopters to enter the Bitcoin ecosystem, and what tools can help them?

Simon@OKLink: Availability of tools and data

The first obstacle is the availability of tools Lack of usability and best practices. The second key issue is data availability and interoperability. At present, other ecosystems have attracted a large number of users and decentralized application development, while the user base and community support of the Bitcoin ecosystem are relatively limited, which also poses certain constraints on the development of the ecosystem. We are working hard to gradually remove these obstacles through the architectural design and tool development of the protocol, making the Bitcoin ecosystem more friendly and efficient.

Vivian@Fractal: Clear documentation and use cases

Fractal is built on Bitcoin, EVM Developers may question its feasibility when they first hear it and find that Fractal's environment is completely different and complex. This unfamiliarity brings challenges and requires us to provide clear documentation and use cases to help developers understand the protocol and application implementation.

Therefore, we have improved documentation, created a more friendly development environment, opened APIs and services, and lowered the threshold for teams to enter the Bitcoin ecosystem. In addition, in cooperation with infrastructure providers such as OKLink, we are committed to building browsers and other data tools that are critical to developers. We hope to promote collaboration among teams and jointly developCreate a healthy Bitcoin development environment.

Haichao@Rooch: Easy-to-use and compatible solutions

The obstacle is that everything needs to start from Start from scratch. There was no existing solution for Move virtual machines, so we had to build it from scratch and generate soft proofs of security.

Another aspect is how to connect the Move virtual machine with Bitcoin to realize asset migration and various functions. The Move virtual machine is naturally highly compatible with Bitcoin assets, which allows us to build all the functionality we currently have, including locking with a Bitcoin wallet, operating Bitcoin assets, or running assets in a UTXO-like mode.

Currently, we have successfully allowed developers to develop with Move on the Bitcoin chain. In the future, we will further explore, for example, how to use Bitcoin network solutions to improve performance and interoperability.

Summary and outlook: What do you think Bitcoin will be like in 3 months or 2 years?

In the next three months, many projects will be launched and create a lot of traction and momentum in the Bitcoin ecosystem;

It is expected that with the continuous growth of users and developers, more institutions will enter the Bitcoin ecosystem, promote its maturity and develop more application scenarios;

As solutions and technologies evolve, users can enjoy cross-platform experiences in a more seamless environment;

(The picture shows the transaction number statistics of OKLink official website)

Bitcoin’s applications may become more abundant, especially In terms of privacy protection and cross-chain interoperability; some new protocols and applications are also expected to become new highlights in the market.

Overall, with the entry of more large companies and institutions, the Bitcoin ecosystem is expected to usher in more mature and diversified development in the future. Let's wait and see.

*The content described in this article is the guest’s opinion sharingSummary and should not be construed as specific investment advice.