During a Twitter Space session on July 7, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, expressed his view that the implementation of the sequence number in Bitcoin represents a return to a builder culture within the network. Buterin engaged in a lengthy discussion with bitcoin proponents Eric Wall and Udi Wertheimer, discussing what bitcoin developers can learn from Ethereum developers.
Buterin praised Ordinals and the BRC-20 token standard, considering them a rejection of the perceived stagnation in the bitcoin ecosystem. He expressed his belief that the sequence number is revitalizing a culture of action and progress. The conversation primarily focused on scalability issues , with Wall asserting that Bitcoin's Lightning Network does not scale effectively for future users.
In response, Buterin suggested that a fruitful approach would be to focus on implementing various Layer-2 solutions and improving the efficiency of Bitcoin's base layer. He advocated for the exploration of rollups and scaling solutions based on ZK-snarks. Wertheimer added that the introduction Of zero-knowledge rollups could enable an execution environment for smart contracts on the Bitcoin network.
The Ordinals project, particularly Wall and Wertheimer, has been vocal in advocating for additional functionality on top of the Bitcoin network. This stance has attracted criticism from more purist Bitcoin supporters who argue that Bitcoin's primary function as a peer-to-peer -peer -peer cash network is Undermined by features like NFTs and smart contracts. Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3, expressed concerns about block space allocation for non-payment related activities.
Wall responded to the criticisms by highlighting that Bitcoin can be used as a proof system for zero-knowledge proofs, avoiding network congestion. He emphasized the desire to leverage Bitcoin's base layer as a judge or arbiter for calculations rather than executing them on -chain. The discussion ignored controversy within the bitcoin community, with Wertheimer criticizing Mow and Blockstream CEO Adam Beck for dismissing the conversation with Buterin.
Overall, the conversation shed light on the ongoing debate surrounding the potential for expanding functionality within the Bitcoin network while preserving its core principles.
