Blockchain scaling company StarkWare has ambitious plans to tackle a major hurdle in the cryptocurrency world: Bitcoin’s scalability limitations. In a surprising move, StarkWare aims to leverage its existing Ethereum scaling tech, specifically zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, to boost Bitcoin’s transaction processing power without creating a separate token or requiring a controversial blockchain fork.
While this expansion marks a significant step for StarkWare, the company emphasizes its core mission remains firmly rooted in Ethereum. A recent blog post highlights their unwavering commitment to “scaling Ethereum in the most efficient way possible” throughout 2024. This two-pronged approach positions StarkWare as a unique player, aiming to serve both Ethereum and Bitcoin communities with a unified solution.
The secret sauce lies in transforming Starknet, StarkWare’s Ethereum-focused layer-2 scaling project, into a single execution layer that can handle transactions for both blockchains simultaneously. This eliminates the need for a dedicated Bitcoin token or a disruptive hard fork in the Bitcoin network, potentially paving the way for smoother adoption.
This initiative aligns with StarkWare‘s broader vision of addressing scalability bottlenecks across major blockchains. By leveraging their existing Ethereum expertise, they aim to develop a solution within just six months following the potential implementation of OP_CAT, a proposed Bitcoin upgrade that introduces smart contract functionality.
The success of StarkWare’s ambitious plan hinges on the Bitcoin community’s acceptance of the OP_CAT proposal. If both OP_CAT gains traction and StarkWare delivers on its development goals, this could mark a significant turning point for Bitcoin’s scalability, potentially opening the door to wider adoption and a more robust ecosystem.
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