
Source: XYZ Labs
What is Fractal Bitcoin?
Fractal Bitcoin is an innovative blockchain expansion solution based on recursive virtualization technology that enhances Bitcoin’s scalability by creating multi-layer network structures while maintaining a secure connection to the main network.
The creative background of fractal Bitcoin originated from the emergence of the Ordinals protocol and related applications in 2023.For security reasons, Bitcoin imposed restrictions on opcode and block storage space in its iteration. When the Bitcoin chain ecosystem was developing rapidly, there were limitations in on-chain computing power and block space, so the developers proposed thatThe concept of fractal Bitcoin is expected to solve the shortcomings of the Bitcoin network.
The technical architecture features of fractal Bitcoin:
1. Shorten the 10-minute block production time of Bitcoin to 30 seconds, confirm transactions more quickly, greatly improve user experience, increase the overall throughput of the network, and support a wider range of complex applications that require high transaction volumes.
2. A unique hybrid mining method is adopted.Two of every three blocks are mining without permission, and the other is mining in joint with Bitcoin.Utilize Bitcoin’s powerful computing power to enhance security, while allowing individual miners to participate freely in two-thirds of block production, encouraging decentralization.
3. Fractal has implemented Turing’s complete smart contracts on a Bitcoin-based platform, which provides possibilities for advanced DeFi protocols, complex NFT mechanisms, and other decentralized applications that were previously limited to the Ethereum platform.
4. Maintain 100% compatibility with Bitcoin standards such as BRC-20 and Ordinals.
5. Allow different applications to run their own network layers, and games and defi can operate separately in different independent network layers.
Why will Bitcoin expansion become the next focus in the blockchain industry?
Blockchain technology continues to advance, and Bitcoin, as the earliest and widely accepted cryptocurrency, still plays an important role in global influence so far.
However, with the popularity of its network, scalability issues have gradually become prominent, and bottlenecks such as slow transaction confirmation speed and limited processing capabilities have become challenges that need to be solved urgently.To understand why Bitcoin expansion has become the next focus of the blockchain industry, we need to understand the historical background of the Bitcoin expansion discussion.In 2017, the SegWit soft fork was designed to increase Bitcoin’s block capacity, followed by the controversial Bitcoin Cash hard fork as another extension method.Since 2018, more and more attention has turned to second-tier solutions, such as Lightning Network.In this process of continuing to explore Bitcoin’s scalability and functional enhancement, more and more unique perspectives to cope with the challenges of long-term expansion have gradually emerged in the market.
Especially as the crypto market enters 2023, the high requirements for network scalability of new protocols such as Inscription Protocol and brc20 and brc420 for the rapid rise of Bitcoin networks determine that Bitcoin expansion will still become the next focus of the industry.New scaling technologies need to achieve this by creating separate blockchains that can interoperate with the Bitcoin main network.Need to support two-way anchoring, allowing enhanced functionality of Bitcoin without changing the main network, experimenting with new features and applications, transfer transactions from the main blockchain to solve scalability problems, and support multiple use cases such as intelligenceContracts and decentralized applications to broaden the practicality of Bitcoin and promote innovation within its ecosystem.
As a major innovation in scaling technology in the new cycle, Fractal’s main network was officially launched at 00:00 UTC on September 9, 2024.After it was launched, it showed the strong appeal of this expansion technology to the market. In just 24 hours after the main network was launched, Fractal’s joint mining accounted for more than 40% of Bitcoin’s total computing power, while free mining on Fractal accounts for2% of Bitcoin’s computing power.The rapid adoption of miners also shows the market’s high confidence in Fractal technology and its potential.
Data source: https://explorer.unisat.io/fractal-mainnet/mining
Comparison between fractal Bitcoin and other scaling solutions
Unlike other Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions, the wallet address on Fractal is exactly the same as the mainnet address.This design provides Ethereum-like convenience, where users can access different layers by simply switching the network in a UniSat or OKX wallet.Unlike other Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions that require a separate EVM wallet address, Fractal allows users to continue using Bitcoin mainnet addresses during Layer 2 activities.As of now, major wallets such as OKX Wallet and UniSat Wallet serve most active Bitcoin DeFi and collectible users, fully supporting Fractal Bitcoin.
It’s a comparison with some major alternatives:
1. EVM-compatible Layer 2: Some projects try to create a second layer of EVM-based solution for Bitcoin.While these solutions are relatively easy to implement and launch, there are significant challenges in acceptance of the Bitcoin community.By contrast, Fractal takes a Bitcoin native approach that may be more in line with the philosophy of Bitcoin purists and may enable better integration and adoption within the existing Bitcoin ecosystem.
2. Bitcoin Cash (BCH): Bitcoin Cash appears as a hard fork of Bitcoin, aiming to improve scalability through larger block sizes.This approach leads to disagreement within the Bitcoin community and forces users to choose between two competing Bitcoin visions.By contrast, instead of creating a standalone chain or forcing users to make choices, Fractal embraces Bitcoin as the mainnet and seeks to expand it locally.Fractal’s architecture allows the creation of multiple instances to scale together, which may provide unlimited scalability without sacrificing the security or decentralization of the underlying layer.
3. Lightning Network: Lightning Network has performed excellently in fast, low-cost payments and high privacy, but its smart contract functions are limited and it faces channel liquidity issues.In contrast, Fractal provides complete smart contract support, no channel management is required, and provides a simpler user experience.
Overall, fractal Bitcoin maintains the basic security and reliability of the Bitcoin network and increases scalability.Create multiple independent hierarchies on the Bitcoin blockchain.Each hierarchy runs as a separate instance, but is still anchored on the main Bitcoin network.This hierarchical architecture allows fractal Bitcoin to diversify transaction loads, each layer can handle a large number of transactions simultaneously. To manage these levels, fractal Bitcoin implements a dynamic load balancing system.This system can flexibly allocate resources and distribute transactions according to fluctuations in transaction demand, preventing any single level from becoming a bottleneck.In order to achieve cross-level asset transfer, fractal Bitcoin adopts a rotating multi-party computing (MPC) signature system.This system allows efficient and secure asset transfer without the need for users to package their tokens, maintaining the integrity and availability of assets within the ecosystem.
In practical applications, fractal Bitcoin creates dedicated instances for specific purposes.For example, it creates dedicated instances for ordinal numbers, ensuring 100% compatibility and optimizing the processing of these assets.This dedicated instance adopts a mechanism to lock and map specific satoshis on the main chain to the instance, allowing ordinal numbers to flow seamlessly within the instance while ensuring that they retain the original inscription when returning to the main chain.
The Ecology of Fractal Bitcoin
wallet
1. @unisat_wallet: The team behind the launch of fractal Bitcoin has $FB early short investment package
2. @okxweb3: also supports fractal Bitcoin, the second wallet with $FB early investment space
Data/Trading Tools
1. @cryptohunt_ai: Fractal Twitter Information Aggregator, including cat20 mint guide tutorials, and project analysis
2. @mctxyz: On-chain toolbox, comprehensive functions, capable of batch transfer, batch balance checking, splitting UTXO, etc.
3. Fractal Pool List: Find the list of fractal mining pools, their computing power, fees and payment methods
4. @unisat_wallet: Check the computing power and difficulty of mining
5. @mempool: Block Browser
6. @OKLink: Block Browser
7. @FractalBotx: Create, exchange, and earn through Telegram robots
CAT20 protocol tool
1. @cryptohunt_ai: Tools for generations, low cost, fast speed, real-time Kanban check Mint progress
2. @cointool: batch check balance, CAT20 batch transfer
3. @dot_swap: tool for typing
4. CAT-20 browser: query Mint progress, number of holders, etc.
5. @btcterminal_: Query Mint progress, wallet balance, etc.