Article reprinted from: DeMan
In March this year, B² Network announced a striking new announcement through its official Twitter account, which is a collaboration with Babylon Chain. This collaboration aims to push the standardized expansion solution of the Bitcoin network to a new level, by launching the Bitcoin data availability (DA) layer B² Hub, combined with Babylon's Bitcoin security staking service, so as to achieve the use of BTC staking to enhance the security of the PoS network, while supporting BTC's liquidity staking (LSD) and re-staking (Restake) functions.
Babylon introduced a Bitcoin staking system, including time locks, extractable one-time signatures (EOTS), and final round multi-signature consensus and other security mechanisms to ensure the safe operation of the POS network. The cooperation with Babylon not only improves the security of B² Hub, but also promotes the ecological interconnection between the two platforms, bringing new BTC re-staking benefits to users. Therefore, B² Hub's contribution to the Bitcoin Layer2 ecosystem is similar to combining Celestia as the DA layer in the Ethereum Layer2 ecosystem with the re-staking function of Eigenlayer.
In addition, as the cryptocurrency with the highest market value, the vast majority of Bitcoin currently in circulation is still idle. The BTC staking solution proposed by the Babylon team not only allows holders to stake their idle BTC to enhance the security of the PoS network, but also, coupled with the modular Bitcoin Layer2 B² Network, enables BTC holders to invest their assets in various decentralized applications (DApps) in the B² Network ecosystem, thereby enhancing the liquidity of Bitcoin.
Such cooperation brings significant security enhancements to B² Hub, the core component of B² Network. By integrating Babylon’s BTC staking function, it not only brings BTC LSD and Restake use cases to B² Network users, but also significantly improves The security and functionality of the entire Bitcoin Layer 2 network heralds the coming of a more active and connected Bitcoin ecosystem.
Unlocking Bitcoin’s Potential: B² Network and Babylon Chain’s Revolutionary Collaboration
As the market value of Bitcoin reaches 1.4 trillion US dollars, its role is gradually shifting from a simple "value store" to a dynamic asset. However, until 2023, Bitcoin has only participated in the DeFi field mainly through the limited channel of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and the market value of WBTC is only 11 billion US dollars, even less than 1% of the market value. However, it is worth noting that the on-chain asset issuance model BRC20, which has emerged in the past two years under the promotion of the Ordinals protocol, has a market value of 2.65 billion US dollars, indicating that the Bitcoin network has a large amount of asset liquidity that has not yet been released and huge ecological potential.
However, to unleash this potential, the Bitcoin ecosystem needs to be empowered. Although some early Bitcoin supporters (OGs) insist that Bitcoin should maintain its simple and pure network structure, leaving more complex interactions to the Lightning Network, "new voices" within the Bitcoin community believe that the lack of on-chain activity may actually pose a threat to Bitcoin. For example, in the Bitcoin halving event, the halving of block rewards will directly reduce miners' income. Without sufficient economic incentives, the number of miners may decrease, thereby reducing the decentralization and security of the Bitcoin network. One way to solve this problem is to increase the transaction fees earned by miners by increasing on-chain activities, which has been confirmed by the practice of the Ordinals protocol and BRC20.
In order to unleash the potential of the Bitcoin ecosystem, B² Network and Babylon Chain have proposed a modular blockchain solution. The current Bitcoin network uses a simple UTXO model, and modular design is particularly important when only basic payment functions are supported. A complete public chain needs to include multiple components such as the settlement layer, data availability layer (DA layer), execution layer, consensus layer, and cross-chain communication layer. As shown in the figure below, through such a modular design, B² Network hopes to improve the scalability and functionality of the Bitcoin network, enabling it to support more developers to develop and run various DApps on the Bitcoin network.
B² Network's modular solution is implemented in two phases. In the first phase, B² Network will run its own B² Rollup on B² Hub, a Bitcoin-based ZK Rollup designed to increase transaction speed and expand application diversity. In the second phase, B² Network will allow anyone to launch a custom ZK Rollup on B² Hub, providing support for all developers who want to build Layer2 on the Bitcoin network.
In terms of security, B² Hub adopts the PoS mechanism, which ensures the security of the network through validators of staked assets (BTC and B² tokens), and ensures the data availability of Rollup and the validity of state transitions through B² Hub validators. In addition, each block needs to be verified twice through Babylon's Bitcoin staking protocol and Bitcoin timestamp protocol to ensure that the final confirmation of the block is safe and reliable.
Through such technological innovation and strategic cooperation, B² Network and Babylon Chain not only brought new growth momentum to the Bitcoin ecosystem, but also explored new possibilities for the development of blockchain technology, demonstrating the potential for Bitcoin to realize more dynamic financial functions in addition to being a store of value.
Advanced security and scalability: A technical breakdown of Babylon and B² Network
Babylon Chain introduces a set of innovative Bitcoin security protocols, at the core of which is a scalable Bitcoin staking protocol that aims to ensure the security of the decentralized economy. The protocol allows users to stake their Bitcoin directly on the Bitcoin network without going through a third-party address. This unique non-custodial staking process enhances users' control over their assets while leveraging the security of the Bitcoin network itself to protect other external PoS networks.
Babylon's Bitcoin staking mechanism includes an advanced security feature called Extractable One-Time Signatures (EOTS), which automatically exposes the private keys of the parties involved when certain violations occur. This mechanism is implemented by using double signatures on the external PoS network, similar to double payment detection in traditional banking systems. When a node or validator attempts to sign two different blocks at the same block height, its private key will be revealed, allowing the related Bitcoins to be cut remotely. This practice greatly enhances the security of the network and ensures the compliance of node behavior.
B² Network created the first Bitcoin Rollup using zero-knowledge proof-based technology. This second-layer solution greatly improves transaction speed and expands the diversity of DApps. It reduces the cost and time associated with on-chain proofs by integrating B² Hub (DA layer) while ensuring the security and privacy of transactions. B² Network's Rollup technology allows the execution of more complex smart contracts and applications while maintaining the decentralization and security characteristics of the Bitcoin network.
With the cooperation of these two projects, B² Network has enhanced the security layer of its network structure through Babylon's staking protocol, which not only makes B² Hub more secure, but also introduces a new security dimension to the entire Bitcoin ecosystem. The combination of Babylon's EOTS signature and the Schnorr signature mechanism natively supported by Bitcoin provides unprecedented security for Bitcoin chain activities and lays a solid foundation for the construction and operation of possible DApps such as DeFi in the future.
This combination of innovative technology and close collaboration not only brings revolutionary security improvements to the Bitcoin network itself, but also sets new standards for the development of the entire crypto industry. With the further development and application of these technologies, we can foresee the rise of a more secure, efficient and diversified Bitcoin ecosystem.
Summarize
This collaboration focuses on improving the security and scalability of the Bitcoin network while activating the economic potential of BTC. B² Network provides new features and higher transaction efficiency to the Bitcoin network through its advanced B² Hub and Rollup technology based on zero-knowledge proof. Babylon Chain introduces an innovative Bitcoin staking protocol that greatly strengthens the security of the Bitcoin network and supports external PoS networks through its unique security features such as EOTS.
This collaboration not only improves Bitcoin's infrastructure and security framework, but also opens up new possibilities for developers and users, allowing Bitcoin to better integrate into the modern financial system. As these technologies are implemented and improved, the Bitcoin network is expected to usher in wider applications and deeper market participation.
