WIN BITCOIN
Today, Blockstream announced it has launched Simplicity, a new smart contract language designed for the Liquid Network on Bitcoin, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. Simplicity is based on Bitcoin’s UTXO model, making it compatible with formal verification, allowing contracts to be mathematically proven correct before execution.
“Simplicity gives Bitcoin expressive smart contracting power, but without the security problems associated with VM-based chains,” said the Co-Founder and CEO of Blockstream Dr. Adam Back. “It’s built from the ground up to be formally specified, secure, and efficient. With Simplicity, we’re unlocking a wide range of innovative use cases on Bitcoin.”
Simplicity avoids high risk features such as recursion, unbounded loops, and global variables. This design is intended to reduce the potential for bugs and vulnerabilities that have affected other smart contract systems.
The language was first proposed in 2012 by Blockstream engineer Dr. Russell O’Connor and has since been developed by the company’s research team. Blockstream is known for contributing to Bitcoin infrastructure and protocol upgrades, including Taproot.
Simplicity supports several use cases, such as:
- Programmable vaults.
- Multi-user Bitcoin-native smart banks.
- Decentralized exchanges without wrapped assets or global state.
- Identity and reputation systems using signed assertions.
- Institutional custody setups using B-N signature schemes.
- Governance and crowdfunding with static voting rules, recurring payment logic and access-controlled services.
“We designed Simplicity to enable expressive Bitcoin-native applications without inheriting the complexity and fragility of other smart contract ecosystems,” stated the Director of Research at Blockstream Andrew Poelstra. “By combining formal methods with the UTXO model, we’re creating a foundation for secure, programmable finance on Bitcoin that both developers and entities such as financial institutions can depend on.”
The Liquid Network currently has over $3.27 billion in total value locked (TVL), mostly in Bitcoin and issued assets. Simplicity’s integration into this environment aims to provide new tools for organizations looking to build applications within Bitcoin’s ecosystem.
For additional information on Simplicity, visit here.
