Bitcoin developer BlockStream has announced “Simplicity,” a programming language for smart contracts built on Layer 2 Network Liquid.
Co-founded by Cryptographer and early Bitcoin contributor Dr. Adam Back, BlockStream has introduced simplicity with the aim of solving Bitcoin restrictions as a venue for smart contracts.
“Simplicity provides Bitcoin’s expressive smart contract power, but there are no security issues associated with VM-based chains,” announced in an email Thursday. “It’s officially designated, built from the ground up to be safe and efficient.”
In particular, since BITVM was introduced in 2023, the promotion of Bitcoin native programmers has gained momentum in recent years. This is a framework that explores how to validate complex calculations in Bitcoin without changing the basic protocol.
In fact, the origin of Simplicity was pre-BITVM and was conceptualized in 2012 by Dr. Russell O’Connor, Ph.D., Blockstream Research. It is designed to avoid some of the features like Ethereum, such as network vulnerabilities and unbound loops that can lead to exploitation.
Instead, Simplicity uses the UTXO model of Bitcoin. This will allow the token to act like a digital cache, and users will use certain coins rather than updating their account balance.
Currently, simplicity is live on liquid networks and Bitcoin Layer 2 with total value locks (TVL) of over $3 billion, allowing developers to use Bitcoin as their settlement layer to build popular applications on smart contract-enabled blockchains, including programmable vaults, decentralized exchanges, custody services, and governance protocols.
