Bitcoin Network Upgrade in Four Years is Here

Taproot – the long-anticipated upgrade to Bitcoin network since block size increase in 2017 has been activated at block 709,632. This activation of the block has opened the door for developers to integrate new features including improvement of the network in terms of privacy, scalability and security.

According to Coindesk, 90% of miners chose to “signal” their support in June.

Coindesk notes, “a programmed waiting period between lock-in and activation has since given node operators and miners time to fully upgrade to the latest version of Bitcoin Core, 21.1, which contains the merged code for Taproot.”. They further noted “only once they do so will they be able to enforce the new rules making it possible to use the new type of transaction”.

Currently, Bitcoin uses cryptographic scheme Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) for its “digital signatures” where a user sings a transaction with their private key in order to approve a transfer.

However, Taproot upgrades includes a different scheme called Schnorr which is designed to enhance privacy, security and scalability.

Taproot also included multi-signature transactions where more than one signer is required to sign a transaction which will add lead to increased privacy, cheaper transaction fees and data efficiency.

Since data size of complex Bitcoin transactions will be reduced, it will lead to lower transaction cost.

According to CoinmarketCap, Bitcoin is trading at $65,791.85 inched up by 1.51% as of Thailand time 13:46 hours.