BitVM Bridge Successfully Operates on Bitcoin Mainnet for the First Time

Recently, a significant technological breakthrough was achieved on the Bitcoin Mainnet. A team successfully demonstrated real-time application cases of two BitVM bridges, which not only showcased the full functionality and robust security of the BitVM bridges but also proved the effectiveness of collaborating with mining pools to handle non-standard transactions ( NSTs ), which has always been a major challenge faced by the BitVM bridges.

Previously, the team showcased the potential of BitVM on a dedicated testnet, but had to modify the Bitcoin core client to accommodate NSTs. Overcoming the NST issues on the Mainnet is the final key step for the product.

Recently, the team announced partnerships with several mining pools specifically to address the NST challenges. Excitingly, the APIs of these mining pools have successfully processed the first batch of real-time NSTs from the BitVM bridge, responding to requests from real users.

This demonstration includes two complete BitVM bridge use cases, one of which involves handling two different NSTs: Assert transactions and Disprove transactions. This powerfully demonstrates the capabilities of the BitVM bridge and the success of collaboration with mining pools.

Mainnet Demo Details

Participant Role

The demonstration includes the following roles:

• Deposit users: Start the process by bridging BTC to Ethereum.
• Two Brokers:
  • Broker A (malicious): Attempting to steal funds through invalid withdrawal requests.
  • Broker B (Honest): Initiate the legal withdrawal process.

preparation work

1. The user deposits 0.0001 BTC into the BitVM smart contract.
2. Subsequently minted 0.0001 Peg-BTC on the Ethereum Mainnet (YBTC).

Case 1: Honest Broker Withdrawal

This scene illustrates the process in which an honest Broker successfully retrieves BTC and collateral after burning Peg-BTC on Ethereum.

1. Broker B is destroying YBTC on the Ethereum.
2. Broker B sends a Kickoff transaction to initiate a withdrawal request on Bitcoin.
3. After the predefined timeout, Broker B successfully retrieves BTC and collateral through the HappyTake transaction.

This validates the optimistic withdrawal path for honest participants.

Case 2: Invalid withdrawal rejected

This key scenario demonstrates the robustness of the security model. A malicious Broker attempted to steal funds but was successfully thwarted by the fraud proof protocol.

1. Broker A sends a Kickoff transaction to initiate an invalid withdrawal request.
2. An honest observer detects fraud and sends a Challenge transaction, forcing Broker A into the "pessimistic path" of the fraud proof protocol.
3. Broker A is forced to disclose all intermediate values of the validator data block, involving an Assert transaction (NST).
4. The observer identifies erroneous data blocks and sends a Disprove transaction (NST) to replay the erroneous data blocks on the chain, ultimately negating the invalid withdrawal request.

This clearly demonstrates the ability of the BitVM bridge to penalize malicious actors and protect user funds, with the key being that the Mainnet successfully handled NST transactions such as Assert and Disprove.

The successful demonstration on the Bitcoin Mainnet is an important milestone. It validates the relevant technology, the strength of collaboration with mining pools, and the commitment to building scalable, secure, and trustless Bitcoin infrastructure. This paves the way for a new generation of decentralized financial applications on Bitcoin.