Guess what is expanding its reach and becoming more advanced in the crypt world? It is none other than our very own Bitcoin. The taproot soft fork has brought forth the concept of MAST. You must be thinking what this is, right? MAST or Merkelized Abstract Syntax Tree (MAST) improvised the ability to script. Moreover, it enhances the privacy of the Bitcoin network.
The bitcoin network has successfully activated its soft fork. After BTC has tapped into the Taproot, the consensus has noticed a lock-in as well. Recently, the market has noticed a 90% lock-in consensus from miners and mining pools. It ranges between blocks from 709,488 to 709,632. It is a huge milestone as it marks the first major upgrade of BTC since 2017.
Moreover, it is at this time when Bitcoin saw the layer-two solution. At that time, these solutions were the Lightning Network and Segregated Witness (SegWit). Now, the Taproot soft fork will change the way investors see BTC.
The Aim of Taproot
The Taproot upgrade aims towards improving the ability to script. Moreover, it also wants to improve the privacy section of the Bitcoin network. So, to do this, the soft fork will introduce a concept that we will know as MAST. The MAST or Merkelized Abstract Syntax Tree will make a change.
About how Taproot will change Bitcoin, a prominent Hampus Sjöberg has lent his views. He said, “[MAST] can help make smart contracts more efficient and private by only revealing the relevant parts of the contract when spending.”
Hence, in the interview, Hampus claimed that if they activate the Taproot, then BTC can upgrade its network again. He also points out that this is one of the crucial aspects of digital currency. Moreover, he points out that it will benefit the Bitcoin network in the long run. He further said, “I think that’s the greatest win.”
What Does the Expert Think?
Hampus is a developer of the Bitcoin Lightning Wallet that we know as Blixt wallet. He believes that the Taproot Upgrade will allow the person to explore the off-chain capabilities. Moreover, he thinks that they do not put too much of a burden on the Bitcoin nodes of the network.
In addition to this, Sjoberg also contends that MAST now can assist the network in improving the privacy of the older Lightning Networks. He commented, “if the Lightning implementations choose to adopt Taproot.” Other developers of the various Lightning Network node undertakings met in Zurich. So, a few weeks ago, they discussed the possible upgrade paths.
They commented, “One of the things that were discussed in the meeting was whether it’s best to upgrade Lightning in small iterations or do it as one big package.” Hampus also said, “It’s not possible to tell if a Taproot transaction is just a normal payment or if it belongs to a Lightning channel. This is important for the fungibility and thus the censorship resistance of Bitcoin.”
The Taproot owes its launch to Speedy Trial. It is a soft fork deployment method. Normally, it requires 90% of the miners so that they can deploy the signal deployment of the upgrade. Moreover, to speak freely about this, Hampus said, “the signaling method works in periods of 2016 blocks, meaning that within a 2016 block period, 90%, or 1815 of the 2016 blocks have to signal for readiness.”
Ending note
When the BTC announced that they reached a 90% consensus for the first time in June 2021, everyone rejoiced. However, the Taproot upgrade will mark the end of such methods. The sources have revealed that the bitcoin network will need a provision for the soft fork deployment. After that, it can easily go through the changes.
You may also read: Bitcoin Price Prediction
