Are There Any Upgrades on The Horizon For Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is known worldwide for being the flagship crypto. It’s the first digital currency invented and the largest one by trading volume and market capitalization, with unmatched growth and an impressive track record of price spikes (and downturns) over the years. Its creation inspired the emergence of numerous other crypto initiatives and led to the establishment of the current cryptocurrency industry. Although there have been various attempts to create a viable cryptocurrency prior to Bitcoin, it was Bitcoin’s staggering rise to fame that put digital currencies on the global financial map and introduced the concept of virtual money to the world.

Fourteen years after its inception, people are able to use Bitcoin to purchase goods from an ever-growing range of merchants, retailers and stores, or to earn passive income. But despite all its notable achievements and the notable appreciation of the Bitcoin price, one can’t help but notice that the flagship crypto has been rather static in terms of updates and upgrades. Compared to other crypto projects out there, the Bitcoin network hasn’t changed all that much since its humble beginnings, and many believe the lack of improvements might render Bitcoin’s technology obsolete at one point.

With competition in the crypto sphere getting fiercer by the day and the government’s crackdown on the industry just getting started, all eyes are on Bitcoin and its next move. Is there anything that the Bitcoin community plans to do in the future that might support the network’s progress? And if so, what improvement can we expect to see in the years to come? These are the questions on crypto enthusiasts’ lips that we’re trying to answer here.

Taproot – Bitcoin’s Biggest Upgrade in Years

First, we have to address the common misconception that Bitcoin hasn’t had any upgrades since launching. The Bitcoin blockchain has gone through various hard forks and updates over time in order to address certain flaws and enhance the platforms’ performance. Some of these upgrades have been highly controversial while others have been implemented smoothly.

However, it’s true that Bitcoin hasn’t been as focused on updating its protocol and features as other platforms. The network is still using the same proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism it did when it was launched, despite the criticism it has received in recent years for consuming massive amounts of energy. By comparison, Ethereum has switched from PoW to a proof-of-stake (PoS) algorithm which helped the network reduce its energy consumption by 99%.

Looking back at Bitcoin’s history, the Taproot upgrade emerges as its most notable improvement in years. Launched in November 2021, the Taproot upgrade was a move that received massive support from the crypto community, something that is rarely seen in an industry that is usually so divided by conflicting views.

The upgrades’ purpose was to boost the network’s speed, efficiency and security for processing transactions. The Bitcoin blockchain uses unique cryptographic proofs known as digital signatures to verify transactions. These signatures can only be generated by someone who has a private key that’s connected to a public key and validated by it.

Prior to Taproot, verifying Bitcoin transactions relied on a system called the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) where every single digital signature had to be verified individually against a wallet’s public key. This resulted in a slow and cumbersome process that also posed security concerns for users. Under Taproot, Bitcoin managed to address these issues by batching multiple signatures and transactions together and thus validating them simultaneously. Apart from ensuring faster transactions, the upgrade also increased their security by combining multi-signature transactions with multi-signature transactions, making it impossible to distinguish between the two.

Another notable improvement brought by the Taproot upgrade relates to the execution of smart contracts. These are blockchain-based programs that run automatically when certain conditions are met, making it easier for all parties to fulfil their end of the deal. Smart contracts have a wide range of applications across a variety of industries, so their popularity is on the rise. Initially, running smart contracts on the Bitcoin network posed several challenges that were successfully addressed by the Taproot upgrade, becoming easier to manage and more cost-effective since then.

What Lies Ahead

The Taproot upgrade managed to tackle many of the issues that Bitcoin had been facing over the years and brought the network to the level of newer and more innovative crypto projects. Some argue that it took Bitcoin a little too long to roll out this much-needed upgrade that could have been implemented much earlier. However, few know that Taproot was a long time in the making and had to go through various testing sessions in order to receive the green light, so it was an upgrade well worth the wait.

But with Taproot behind crypto enthusiasts naturally wonder what other upgrades the network has prepared. Although Bitcoin continues to be the leading crypto in the market, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Bitcoins’ energy-intensive consensus mechanism is one area that could use some upgrading considering that many existing platforms have already made the switch to alternative systems.

And yet Bitcoin doesn’t seem to be in a rush to change its old ways. There are currently no plans to implement a new consensus model or make any major change to the blockchain, and that’s probably because Bitcoin plays in a league of its own and doesn’t try to compete with other players in the field. Bitcoin can simply exist and still be in the lead because of its first-mover advantage, market value and the resilience it has shown over the years. This doesn’t mean that the platform isn’t going to work on advancing its features and functionalities, but the upgrades might not be as groundbreaking as some expect.

Wrapping up

Bitcoin’s history shows that the developing community takes extra caution before rolling out an upgrade. So, we can expect the network’s future improvements to fall in line with this approach. Bitcoin is certainly not trying to reinvent the wheel and is comfortably sitting at the top at the moment by following its usual less-is-more recipe.