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2021-09-22

Bitcoin smart contracts thanks to Dfinity Foundation's Internet Computer

Dfinity Foundation's Internet Computer blockchain brings smart contract capabilities to the Bitcoin (BTC) network, potentially opening the door to new use cases for the major cryptocurrency.

Internet Computer will use the so-called cryptocurrency blockchain key to integrate with Bitcoin, paving the way for smart contracts with native BTC addresses that are hosted directly on Internet Computer, the Dfinity Foundation announced on Tuesday.

Internet Computer smart contracts will gain access to Bitcoin liquidity, and Bitcoin will gain the powerful new functionality of smart contracts, without the need for insecure and cumbersome trusted bridging services

They will have associated BTC addresses, giving them direct access to transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. Finalizing a transaction on Internet Computer takes two seconds, compared to 40 minutes on Bitcoin. To get around this, so-called 'Bitcoin banks' can be used directly on the Internet Computer, enabling fast two-second transactions.

Earlier this year, the Dfinity Foundation launched a $223 million Developer Ecosystem Program to support further development of smart contracts and blockchain. The project, which launched in 2014, has received financial backing from some of the largest cryptocurrency venture firms, including Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain Capital.