Bitlayer Series (22): Security Analysis and Advantages of BitVM
BitVM is the core innovation of Bitlayer, providing Bitcoin with Turing-complete computing capabilities without sacrificing the security of the main chain. In simple terms, BitVM moves complex computations to Layer 2, settling ultimately on Bitcoin through a recursive verification protocol. This avoids the centralization risks associated with sidechains, as all state changes are secured by Bitcoin consensus.
In terms of security, BitVM builds a challenge-response mechanism using the BitVM paradigm. If a rollup operator submits a false state, any honest participant can initiate a challenge, locking their collateral BTC as a penalty. This is much more reliable than multi-signature schemes, which are prone to manipulation by a few individuals. Bitlayer's recursive protocol further enhances continuity, ensuring a seamless connection of the L2 chain to L1 without breaks.
The advantage lies in the modular design. Developers can customize execution engines, supporting EVM-compatible contracts, allowing Bitcoin to run DeFi applications with the same flexibility as Ethereum. However, unlike Ethereum, BitVM does not introduce new trust assumptions; everything is rooted in Bitcoin's PoW. In practical tests, Bitlayer's soft finality is at sub-second levels, while hard finality only requires a 7-day challenge period, balancing speed and security.
What about potential vulnerabilities? The main concern is script limitations, but Bitlayer has bypassed Bitcoin's non-Turing completeness issue with Groth16 SNARG and hash signatures. Overall, BitVM not only enhances Bitcoin's programmability but also provides a Bitcoin-level security foundation for DeFi. In the future, it may become the industry standard, encouraging more projects to transition to the Bitcoin ecosystem and avoid the Gas fee problems of Ethereum.
