Recently #分形比特币 is very popular. Some friends consulted me. I did see many KOLs talking about this thing, but I didn’t study it carefully because I felt it was just a forked chain and a rehash of old stories. The previous debate on Bitcoin expansion was much more popular than this. However, I still discussed this issue with ChatGPT. The following is the record:
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You said:
Fractal Bitcoin is very popular recently. Please compare the Bitcoin network, BCH network, other forked coins or parallel chains, and other public chains, and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the Fractal Bitcoin network from a professional perspective.
ChatGPT says:
Fractal Bitcoin has recently attracted widespread attention in the crypto community. As a scaling solution for the Bitcoin network, it has its own unique advantages and some trade-offs. The following is a comparative analysis of Fractal Bitcoin with the Bitcoin network (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and other forked coins or parachains:
Main Features of Fractal Bitcoin
Native scalability and compatibility: Fractal Bitcoin is developed based on the Bitcoin Core code, which makes it seamlessly compatible with the existing Bitcoin ecosystem, including wallets and other infrastructure. For users and developers, this compatibility makes it easier to adopt Fractal Bitcoin without switching to new platforms or tools.
Dynamic and recursive expansion: Fractal Bitcoin uses a multi-level tree structure that allows dynamic expansion. When the transaction volume of the Bitcoin mainnet increases, Fractal Bitcoin can transfer some transactions to higher levels and automatically expand according to demand. This method greatly improves transaction processing capabilities, making it allegedly 20 times faster than the Bitcoin mainnet.
Fast confirmation time: The block confirmation time of the Fractal Bitcoin network is approximately 30 seconds, which is significantly improved compared to Bitcoin’s 10-minute confirmation time and is suitable for transactions that need to be processed quickly.
Consistency between layers: An important feature of Fractal Bitcoin is the ability to maintain consistency between multiple layers, ensuring that all transactions on the upper layer can be traced back to the Bitcoin mainnet. This avoids the risk of forks or shards that may occur in other networks.
Comparison with Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin (BTC): The Bitcoin mainnet focuses on security and decentralization, maintaining these characteristics by maintaining a small block size (1MB). However, this limits its transaction throughput and increases fees during peak periods. Although Bitcoin has improved scalability through solutions such as Segregated Witness (SegWit) and Lightning Network, these solutions have certain trade-offs in terms of usability and complexity.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH): Bitcoin Cash aims to solve Bitcoin's scaling problem by increasing the block size (initially 8MB, now 32MB), thereby increasing the transaction processing capacity per second and reducing fees, making it more suitable for daily transactions. However, this approach reduces decentralization to a certain extent, as larger blocks may lead to the risk of miner centralization.
Advantages and Tradeoffs
Fractal Bitcoin offers an innovative solution that provides fast transaction processing and scalability by leveraging the existing Bitcoin network. Its dynamic expansion and native integration with Bitcoin make it an attractive option for users who want to solve the scaling problem within the Bitcoin ecosystem, although it is still in its early stages and needs time to verify its security and stability (Gate.io, Overview | Fractal).
Bitcoin Cash is more suitable for users who care about low fees and high transaction throughput, but compromises on decentralization and security (coin bureau).
In summary, Fractal Bitcoin provides effective expansion and fast transaction processing capabilities while maintaining consistency with the Bitcoin network, but it still needs time to prove its reliability and security.
You said:
In essence, Fractal Bitcoin is actually a fork of the Bitcoin network. Is there any innovation?
ChatGPT says:
From a technical perspective, Fractal Bitcoin can indeed be considered a fork of the Bitcoin network, but it has some unique innovations in its implementation and goals that make it more than just a simple copy or modification. Here are a few key innovations:
1. Recursive expansion structure
The core innovation of Fractal Bitcoin lies in its recursively extended multi-layer structure. This design allows the network to dynamically expand according to demand, increasing transaction processing capacity by creating multiple layers on the Bitcoin mainnet. These layers are unfolded in a tree structure, and each layer can be further expanded, thereby increasing the parallel processing capacity of the network. This design is different from traditional on-chain expansion solutions and provides greater flexibility and scalability (Gate.io).
2. Native integration and compatibility
Fractal Bitcoin maintains full compatibility with the Bitcoin Core code, ensuring that it can be seamlessly integrated with the existing Bitcoin ecosystem (such as wallets, exchanges, etc.). This compatibility makes it technically easier for existing Bitcoin users and developers to accept and adopt without having to build new infrastructure from scratch (Overview | Fractal).
3. Fast confirmation and dynamic load balancing
Fractal Bitcoin achieves a block confirmation time of about 30 seconds, and automatically adjusts the number of expansion layers according to network demand through a dynamic load balancing mechanism. This means it can more effectively cope with peak transaction demand and avoid congestion problems on the Bitcoin mainnet (Overview | Fractal).
4. Reintroducing OP_CAT
Fractal Bitcoin reintroduces the OP_CAT opcode, which was disabled in earlier versions of Bitcoin. This opcode allows string concatenation, bringing new programming possibilities to Bitcoin scripts, such as extending the functionality of smart contracts. Although there are certain security risks in re-enabling OP_CAT, Fractal Bitcoin reduces these risks by limiting and optimizing it (Gate.io).
Summarize
Although Fractal Bitcoin is indeed a fork of the Bitcoin network to some extent, it attempts to solve the limitations of Bitcoin mainnet in scalability and transaction speed through innovations such as recursive expansion, multi-layer structure, fast confirmation, and native compatibility. These innovations make Fractal Bitcoin not just a simple fork, but a solution that attempts to improve its scalability while maintaining Bitcoin's core features (such as security and decentralization).
You said:
Fractal Bitcoin can be jointly mined. As a new chain, can big miners easily attack it by 51%?
ChatGPT says:
Fractal Bitcoin does introduce a joint mining mechanism, which is designed to utilize Bitcoin's existing miners and hardware resources to improve the security of the network by mining together with Bitcoin. However, as a new chain, Fractal Bitcoin may face some potential risks in its early stages, especially 51% attacks from large miners.
Merger-mining advantages and risks
Merged mining advantages: Merged mining allows miners to mine both Bitcoin and Fractal Bitcoin blocks at the same time without adding additional computing resources. This has a positive effect on attracting Bitcoin miners to participate in the maintenance of Fractal Bitcoin's network, helping to enhance its network security and decentralization.
Risk of 51% attack: Although joint mining can use the existing computing power of the Bitcoin network to protect the Fractal Bitcoin network, since Fractal Bitcoin is a new chain, the computing power may be relatively low in the early stage. If a few large miners have enough computing power, they may concentrate their resources to launch a 51% attack on Fractal Bitcoin. The main risk of this attack is that large miners can control the production of blocks, thereby double-spending attacks or interfering with the normal operation of the network.
Mitigation
To reduce the risk of 51% attacks, Fractal Bitcoin introduces mechanisms such as "Cadence Mining", which generates two blocks through permissionless mining and one block through joint mining in a three-block cycle. This design aims to disperse the control of miners and increase the difficulty of attacks.
in conclusion
In general, although Fractal Bitcoin improves network security through joint mining and other mechanisms, as a new chain, it does have the potential risk of being attacked by 51% by large miners in the early stage. Over time, the decentralization of the network and the increase in miner participation can gradually reduce this risk.
You said:
What are the specific details of Cadence Mining and will it cause other problems?
ChatGPT says:
Cadence Mining is an innovative mining mechanism of Fractal Bitcoin that aims to improve the security and decentralization of the network by mixing different types of mining methods. Specifically, Cadence Mining includes the following key elements:
1. Mining cycle
Cadence Mining generates three blocks in each cycle:
The two blocks were generated through permissionless mining, which is similar to traditional Bitcoin mining and can be participated by any miner with the necessary hardware and software.
A block is generated through Merge Mining, which allows Bitcoin miners to mine both Bitcoin and Fractal Bitcoin blocks at the same time without adding additional computing resources.
2. Permissionless Mining
Permissionless mining encourages more participants to join the mining process and reduces the risk of miner centralization. Anyone can participate in the mining process, which helps to enhance the decentralized nature of the network.
3. Joint Mining
Through joint mining, Fractal Bitcoin can leverage the existing computing power of the Bitcoin network to improve its security, which is especially important for a new chain because it can obtain higher security guarantees in the early stages.
Potential problems and risks
Miner Centralization: Although Cadence Mining has designed permissionless mining to promote decentralization, joint mining still relies on the computing power of the Bitcoin network. Large mining pools may still centrally control most of the joint-mined blocks, resulting in a certain degree of centralization risk.
Coordination Complexity: Cadence Mining requires coordination between different types of miners, especially switching between permissionless mining and joint mining in the same cycle. This complexity may lead to some technical and operational challenges, especially during peak network load periods.
Possibility of 51% attack: Although Cadence Mining is designed to reduce the risk of 51% attack, due to the low initial computing power of the new chain, if a small number of large miners control the block production of joint mining, they may still use their computing power advantage to launch an attack on the network.
In general, Cadence Mining is a mechanism designed to improve network security and decentralization, but it still faces certain challenges and risks, especially in the early stages of the network. As the Fractal Bitcoin network grows and more miners join, these issues may be alleviated, but continuous monitoring and improvement are needed.
You said:
What are the hardware requirements for permissionless mining? Can I mine directly with a Bitcoin mining machine?
ChatGPT says:
Permissionless mining is part of the fractal Bitcoin network, which is designed to allow any miner with suitable hardware to participate in the mining of blocks, thereby enhancing the decentralization of the network. Regarding hardware requirements and whether you can use Bitcoin mining machines to mine, here are some key points:
Hardware requirements
ASIC devices: Permissionless mining supports mining with ASIC miners commonly found in Bitcoin. This means that existing Bitcoin miners can use their equipment to mine Fractal Bitcoin directly without having to purchase new hardware.
GPU and other hardware: In addition to ASIC miners, Fractal Bitcoin's permissionless mining also supports the use of high-performance GPUs or other computing devices for mining. Similar to traditional Bitcoin mining, strong computing power is still an important factor in obtaining successful mining opportunities.
Applicability of Bitcoin Mining Machines
Since Fractal Bitcoin uses the same PoW (Proof of Work) consensus mechanism as Bitcoin, Bitcoin miners can be directly used to mine Fractal Bitcoin. This compatibility allows Bitcoin miners to easily transfer part of their computing power to Fractal Bitcoin, thereby increasing the overall computing power and security of the new chain.
Other considerations
Power consumption: Although the hardware is compatible, mining with ASIC miners still results in higher power consumption, which requires miners to weigh the input-output ratio.
Mining income: Since Fractal Bitcoin is a new chain, the initial mining income may not be as stable as Bitcoin. Miners need to consider the maturity of the market and the long-term potential of Fractal Bitcoin.
In summary, Fractal Bitcoin’s permissionless mining mechanism is designed to support existing Bitcoin miners and other high-performance hardware, which provides a way for miners to enter the network while also helping Fractal Bitcoin benefit from the maturity of the Bitcoin network.
You said:
What I mean is, I can use a Bitcoin mining machine to mine only fractal Bitcoin, or I can mine fractal Bitcoin and Bitcoin at the same time. Which of the two strategies is better?
ChatGPT says:
Yes, you can choose to mine Fractal Bitcoin using only your Bitcoin miner, or you can mine both Bitcoin (BTC) and Fractal Bitcoin at the same time. Both strategies have their pros and cons, depending on your goals and considerations of the following factors:
1. Mining fractal bitcoins alone
advantage:
Potentially high returns: As a new chain, Fractal Bitcoin may have higher block rewards and lower difficulty in the early stages, which means you may get more Fractal Bitcoins.
Low competition pressure: Since the current computing power of Fractal Bitcoin is relatively low, the competition is relatively less intense, and the success rate of mining may be higher.
shortcoming:
Market uncertainty: As a new chain, the market value and liquidity of Fractal Bitcoin may not be as stable as Bitcoin. The future value of the mined Fractal Bitcoin is highly uncertain.
Opportunity cost: You give up the chance to mine Bitcoin, whose market value and long-term stability make it a more reliable option.
2. Merged mining (mining Bitcoin and Fractal Bitcoin simultaneously)
advantage:
Double benefit: Through joint mining, you can obtain rewards from both Bitcoin and Fractal Bitcoin at the same time. This strategy can reduce your overall risk.
Utilize existing resources: Joint mining does not require additional hardware investment. You can make full use of the computing power of existing mining machines and obtain benefits from two digital currencies.
shortcoming:
Revenue dispersion: Your computing power needs to be distributed between two chains, which may result in the revenue obtained on each chain not being as high as when focusing on one of them.
Technical complexity: Merged mining may require more technical setup and management, especially if mining machines need to be optimized.
Which strategy is better?
Market environment: If you are optimistic about the long-term development of Fractal Bitcoin and are willing to take certain risks, mining Fractal Bitcoin alone may bring higher potential returns.
Risk Management: If you want to reduce risk and maintain stable returns, the joint mining strategy of mining Bitcoin and Fractal Bitcoin at the same time may be more suitable.
Ultimately, which strategy to choose depends on your risk tolerance, market expectations for Fractal Bitcoin, and whether you are willing to bear the complexity of market volatility and technical management for potential high returns. If you prefer a more stable return, then joint mining may be a better choice. If you are willing to take a certain risk to pursue higher potential returns, then mining Fractal Bitcoin alone may be worth considering.
You said:
The token distribution plan seems to determine that this is a VC chain.
ChatGPT says:
Fractal Bitcoin’s token distribution scheme may indeed make it feel more like a VC-led chain. Here are some factors that often cause this impression:
1. Initial Token Distribution
Many new chains distribute a large number of tokens to early investors, development teams, and strategic partners when they are launched. These tokens are often sold in pre-sales or private placements and are usually acquired by venture capital firms or a small number of participants. If a large proportion of Fractal Bitcoin's token distribution is controlled by early investors or venture capital, this will lead to the network's governance and economic power being too concentrated in the hands of a few people.
2. Lock-up and release plan
In order to prevent excessive volatility in the token market in the short term, project parties usually design lock-up and release plans. Venture capital and early investors tend to gradually unlock their tokens over a longer period of time. However, this mechanism may also allow them to gain relatively greater market control and influence when the project matures.
3. Governance Structure
If the governance mechanisms on a chain (such as voting rights) are mainly controlled by investors who hold a large number of tokens, then the decisions of this chain will likely be biased towards the interests of these large holders rather than the interests of the community or small holders. This situation often occurs in projects backed by VCs, so they are called "VC chains."
4. The impact of venture capital
In many cases, venture capital firms not only provide funding, but also exert influence on the strategic direction of the project. If the main backers of Fractal Bitcoin are VCs, they may push the project to a profit-oriented development path rather than a fully decentralized or community-driven route.
in conclusion
The token distribution plan and governance mechanism are important bases for judging whether a project is a "VC chain". If the token distribution of Fractal Bitcoin does show the above characteristics, then it may be more inclined to a VC-led chain rather than a completely decentralized or community-driven chain. This model may bring rapid development and stable financial support to the project in the early stage, but it may also affect the decentralization and credibility of the network in the long run.
You said:
What are the opportunities for participation in Fractal Bitcoin?
ChatGPT says:
Opportunities to participate in Fractal Bitcoin are mainly concentrated in the following areas:
1. Mining
Fractal Bitcoin supports joint mining and permissionless mining, and miners can use existing Bitcoin mining machines to participate in mining. Participating in mining can not only obtain newly generated fractal bitcoins, but also provide computing power support for the network, helping it maintain security and decentralization.
2. Development and technical contribution
Fractal Bitcoin supports developers to write smart contracts through the reintroduced OP_CAT opcodes and innovate with its multi-level extension architecture. Developers can build decentralized applications (DApps) based on Fractal Bitcoin or contribute to the network's infrastructure, such as developing new tools and optimizing network performance.
3. Node Operation
Running a Fractal Bitcoin node and participating in the network's consensus mechanism is another important way to participate. By running a node, participants can not only help maintain the decentralization of the network, but also receive network rewards.
4. Governance and community engagement
Fractal Bitcoin may launch a governance mechanism in the future, allowing token holders to vote on the future direction of the network. Community members can participate in decision-making by holding tokens, influencing key issues such as network upgrades and parameter adjustments.
5. Investment and Trading
Participating in the token economy of Fractal Bitcoin is also a way to participate. By buying and selling tokens on trading platforms that support Fractal Bitcoin, investors can gain returns in the secondary market. At the same time, early investors may get the opportunity to participate through token sales or lock-up.
6. Developer Rewards Program
Some emerging chains offer developer rewards or funding programs to incentivize developers to build new applications or tools. Fractal Bitcoin may also launch a similar program to provide financial support to developers who are committed to improving and expanding the network.
7. Community building and promotion
By joining the community and participating in Fractal Bitcoin discussions, promotions, and educational activities, you can help raise awareness of the project and earn rewards or incentives from it.
In general, Fractal Bitcoin provides a variety of opportunities to participate, covering technology, mining, investment, governance and community building. The way you choose to participate depends on your interests, skills and understanding of the project.
You said:
How Fractal Bitcoin is compatible with EVM
ChatGPT says:
Fractal Bitcoin achieves compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) through part of its multi-layer architecture. Specifically, Fractal Bitcoin's EVM compatibility is mainly achieved in the following ways:
1. Fractal Confluence 层
Fractal Bitcoin uses a layer called Fractal Confluence, which is compatible with EVM and allows EVM smart contracts to run on the Fractal Bitcoin network. Through this compatibility layer, developers can use existing Ethereum tools and development frameworks (such as Solidity, Truffle, Remix, etc.) to write and deploy smart contracts. The Fractal Confluence layer ensures the executableness of EVM contracts on the Fractal Bitcoin network, allowing DApps and smart contracts in the Ethereum ecosystem to be seamlessly migrated to the Fractal Bitcoin network.
Overview | Fractal
)。
2. Confluence Bridge
In order to realize the transfer of assets between the Bitcoin mainnet and the EVM layer of Fractal Bitcoin, Fractal Bitcoin also provides a cross-chain bridge - Confluence Bridge. This bridge allows users to transfer assets from the Bitcoin mainnet to the EVM layer of Fractal Bitcoin for transactions or smart contract operations, and then transfer them back to the Bitcoin mainnet or other supported blockchains. This cross-chain function not only enhances the flexibility of Fractal Bitcoin, but also further enhances its interoperability with other blockchains. (
Overview | Fractal
)。
3. Combination of UTXO and EVM
Fractal Bitcoin's architecture also includes a UTXO layer called Fractal Spring, which is responsible for handling Bitcoin-style transaction models, while the EVM layer handles smart contracts. Through this two-layer structure, Fractal Bitcoin can support both the traditional Bitcoin UTXO model and the EVM model, providing users and developers with a wider range of functions and choices.
Overview | Fractal
)。
in conclusion
Fractal Bitcoin achieves compatibility with EVM through the Fractal Confluence layer, combined with its cross-chain bridge and UTXO layer, making it a multi-functional platform that can handle Bitcoin-style transactions and execute EVM smart contracts. This architecture not only expands the application scenarios of Fractal Bitcoin, but also increases its interoperability with other blockchains such as Ethereum.
You said:
The official Jucheng mainnet will be launched on September 9. Is the development difficulty really that easy? Looking at its white paper, it seems to be a very large project.
ChatGPT says:
Fractal Bitcoin is scheduled to launch its mainnet on September 9, and while official statements may make it seem like the development process is relatively smooth, in reality, such complex projects often involve a lot of development work and potential technical challenges.
Development difficulty and project scale
Implementation of multi-layer architecture: Fractal Bitcoin's multi-layer structure, including the UTXO layer, EVM compatibility layer, and dynamic expansion mechanism, requires highly complex development work. The integration of these layers not only needs to ensure the normal function of each layer, but also ensure seamless interaction between different layers, which is a huge project for the development team.
EVM compatibility and cross-chain bridge implementation: As mentioned earlier, the development of Fractal Bitcoin's EVM layer and cross-chain bridge also involves complex technical work. This not only requires ensuring the compatibility of smart contracts on the EVM layer, but also requires ensuring that assets can be safely transferred between the Bitcoin mainnet and Fractal Bitcoin. These all involve a lot of smart contract development, testing, and security auditing work.
Network security and stability: Before the mainnet goes live, the development team needs to ensure the security and stability of the network. This includes preventing 51% attacks, ensuring the effectiveness of the mining mechanism, and preventing vulnerabilities in the network from being exploited. All of these require a lot of testing, debugging, and continuous development investment.
Feasibility of timetable
Although the official schedule shows that the project will be launched in a short time, this does not mean that the development difficulty is low. Instead, it may reflect that the team has invested a lot of time and resources in certain aspects of the project, or that they hope to gradually improve the system through continuous iteration and updates after the launch.
in conclusion
The launch of Fractal Bitcoin’s mainnet is indeed a huge project. Although the officially announced timeline may show that the project is progressing smoothly, such blockchain projects usually involve a lot of development and testing work, and their complexity should not be underestimated. The development team may have been doing long preparations in the background, but further optimization and improvement are still needed after the mainnet is launched.
You said:
Is this just a product stitched together using existing source code?
ChatGPT says:
Whether Fractal Bitcoin is simply a product stitched together from existing source code is a question worth exploring. While the project does use some existing blockchain technology and code base, its overall design and implementation is not simple.
Possibility to use existing source code
Bitcoin Core Code: Fractal Bitcoin is explicitly developed based on Bitcoin's core code, which provides it with a stable infrastructure and existing functionality. Many blockchain projects adopt this approach in order to take advantage of Bitcoin's proven security and stability over the years.
EVM compatibility: Fractal Bitcoin claims EVM layer compatibility, which means that it may borrow code or architecture from Ethereum or other EVM-compatible chains. This approach is common in projects that want to quickly achieve cross-chain compatibility and aim to attract existing Ethereum developers and user groups.
Complexity and innovation
Although it is a common practice to use existing source code, Fractal Bitcoin is not just a simple code splicing. Some key innovations in the project, such as recursive expansion structure, integration of multi-layer architecture, dynamic expansion mechanism and complex cross-chain bridge design, show its development difficulty and technical challenges. These innovations go beyond simple code reuse and involve in-depth understanding and improvement of existing technologies.
Risks and Challenges
Integration complexity: Even if Fractal Bitcoin uses existing source code, the integration and implementation of its multi-layer architecture is still a huge challenge. The seamless integration of different technical modules and ensuring the security and stability of the system require in-depth technical skills and a lot of testing.
Possible security vulnerabilities: Borrowing existing code and technology can speed up the development process, but it may also introduce security vulnerabilities in existing code. If adequate security audits are not conducted, this splicing may lead to serious security risks.
in conclusion
Fractal Bitcoin may partially rely on existing source code and technology, especially in terms of Bitcoin and EVM compatibility. However, it is not just a splicing of existing code. Its multi-layer expansion structure, innovative mining mechanism and cross-chain technology indicate that the project has higher complexity and technical challenges. Whether it will eventually succeed depends on its performance after the mainnet is launched.