The Open Source Map of The Bitcoin Protocol Ecosystem

Layer 2

The Lightning Network

  • Taro

    • Description: Taro leverages Taproot to enable the issuance and exchange of Layer 2 assets.

    • Learn More: Lightning Labs Docs

  • Eltoo

    • Description: Eltoo is an additional execution layer for the Lightning Network that enables better upgradability of channels.

    • Learn More: Bitcoin Optech

  • Lightning Cross-Chain Atomic Swaps

    • Description: atomic swaps provide the guarantee to their participants that they will receive the asset from their counterparts once the swap is completed, or the swap will not go through al all.

    • Learn More: Lightning Engineering Blog

  • Loop

    • Description: Loop is an interoperability solution that enables users to manage liquidity between on-chain balances and lightning channels.

    • Learn More: Lightning Labs

  • Atomic Multipath Payments (AMP)

    • Description: AMPs enable Lightning users to manage their liquidity more uniformly and spend funds spread across multiple channels at once.

    • Learn More: Bitcoin-dev List

  • Faraday

    • Description: Faraday is an analytics tool for node operators active on the Lightning Network.

    • Learn More: Lightning Engineering Blog

  • Pool - Lightning Channel Lease (LCL) Protocol

    • Description: Pool implements a clearing house that enables Lightning users to auction the liquidity available within their channels when needed and receive passive income when doing so.

    • Learn More: Pool

  • Thora: Atomic And Privacy-Preserving Multi-Channel Updates

    • Description: Thora implements the functionality of Lightning through via more generic topologies beyond payment paths.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • CryptoMaze: Privacy-Preserving Splitting of Off-Chain Payments

    • Description: A proposal for a secure and privacy-preserving atomic multi-path payment protocol.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • D-LNBot: A Scalable, Cost-Free and Covert Hybrid Botnet on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network

    • Description: A proposal for a hybrid botnet that covertly and efficiently communicates over the Lightning Network.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • Boomerang: Redundancy Improves Latency and Throughput in Payment-Channel Networks

    • Description: A routing protocol designed to be used on top of multi-path routing schemes to construct redundant payment paths free of counterparty risk.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • Spear: Fast Multi-path Payment with Redundancy

    • Description: A routing protocol inspired by Boomerang that is better optimized for existing Lightning Network implementations.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • REBAL: Channel Balancing for Payment Channel Networks

  • Sleepy Channels: Bitcoin-Compatible Bi-directional Payment Channels without Watchtowers

    • Description: A proposed implementation protocol without watchtowers that does not require parties to be persistently online.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • HIDE & SEEK: Privacy-Preserving Rebalancing on Payment Channel Networks

    • Description: A channel rebalancing protocol designed to preserve the privacy of its users.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • WebFlow: Scalable and Decentralized Routing for Payment Channel Networks with High Resource Utilization

    • Description: An optimized routing protocol for Lighting payments.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • Periscope: Censorship-Resistant Off-Chain Traffic Tunneling

    • Description: A privacy protocol that tunnels the internet traffic between two hosts over a stream of Lightning micro-transactions embedded with data.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • LNGate: Powering IoT with Next Generation Lightning Micro-payments using Threshold Cryptography

    • Description: A protocol that enables IoT devices to use the Lightning Network through untrusted gateway nodes.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • FPPW: A Fair and Privacy Preserving Watchtower For Bitcoin

    • Description: An alternative design for the Lighting Network that attempts to increase privacy and security through an accompanying Watchtower.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • BFastPay: A Routing-free Protocol for Fast Payment in Bitcoin Network

    • Description: A routing protocol that leverages a network of arbitrators to settle payments.

    • Learn More: Research Paper.)

  • n-HTLC: Neo Hashed Time-Lock Commitment to Defend Against Wormhole Attack in Payment Channel Networks

    • Description: A design for Lighting HTLCs that attempts to defend against Wormhole attack.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • LightPIR: Privacy-Preserving Route Discovery for Payment Channel Networks

    • Description: A routing protocol that attempts to enable users to discover a shortest path for their payments without revealing any information about the endpoints of the transaction

    • Learn More: Research Paper

Omni

  • Omni DEX

    • Description: A decentralized exchange built atop Bitcoin’s Omni Layer.

    • Learn More: Github

Identity

  • Microsoft ION

    • Description: A Decentralized Identity (DID) protocol built atop Bitcoin.

    • Learn More: Official Website

Data Anchors

  • Open Timestamps

    • Description: A data anchoring protocol that enables users to prove timestamps atop Bitcoin.

    • Learn More: Official Website

Statechains

  • Mercury Protocol

    • Description: A statechain implementation which enables users to leverage a trusted third party, referred to as the statechain entity (SE), to transfer funds offchain.

    • Learn More: Github

Sidechains

Liquid

  • Description: a Bitcoin sidechain that enables private transactions as well as the the creation of assets.

  • Learn More: Official Website

    • Issued Assets

      • Mining Derivatives

        • Description: The Blockstream Mining Note (BMN) enables miners to better hedge their positions.

        • Learn More: Official Website

      • Volcano Bond

        • Description: The Volcano Bond is the first sovereign bond issued on a blockchain. It provides a framework for the issuance of sovereign debt on-chain.

        • Learn More: Press Release

  • Drivechain

    • Description: a sidechain that attempts to increase the throughput and functionality of the Bitcoin network.

    • Learn More: Official Website

  • Elements

    • Description: a sidechain toolkit that enables users to deploy federated sidechains and blockchains featuring Confidential Transactions and Issued Assets.

    • Learn More: Official Website

  • Blockstack

    • Description: a tokenized sidechain that leverages Bitcoin for block checkpointing.

    • Learn More: Official Website

  • Rootstock

    • Description: a tokenized sidechain that leverages Bitcoin for block checkpointing.

    • Learn More: Official Website

  • KEEP

    • Description: a tokenized sidechain that governs, tBTC, a “wrapped” version of Bitcoin that can be used in other blockchains.

    • Learn More: Official Website

Performance & Usability

  • Schnorr Signatures

    • Description: A new signature scheme that iterates upon Bitcoin’s current signature scheme, ECDSA.

    • Learn More: Blog Post

  • Neutrino

    • Description: A scheme that represents the contents of a block in a condensed fashion, thereby enabling applications to more easily determine whether a transaction has been included in a block.

    • Learn More: Bitcoin Optech

  • Erlay

    • Description: A more efficient transaction relay protocol that increases node connectivity and at the same time reduces bandwidth usage.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • BTCPay

    • Description: A decentralized payment processing protocol.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • uTreeXo

    • Description: A protocol that employs checkpoints (proofs) as a way to decrease the size of the blockchain that users need to maintain.

    • Learn More: Official Website

  • libMiniSketch

    • Description: a library that enables the implementation of better connectivity between nodes.

    • Learn More: Bitcoin Optech

  • Revault

    • Description: a custody protocol which enables the implementation of transaction clawbacks.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • Output Script Descriptors

    • Description: A framework for the creation of strings which contain useful information related to a UTXO.

    • Learn More: Bitcoin Optech

  • Assume UTXO

    • Description: A protocol that optimizes the process of Initial Blockchain Download (IBD) so that new nodes can sync faster and be more quickly utilized.

    • Learn More: Github

  • Blockstream Satellite

    • Description: A protocol for the synchronization of nodes over satellite.

    • Learn More: Official Website

Smart Contracts

  • Covenants (OP_CTV)

    • Sapio

      • Description: A Bitcoin scripting language powered by OP_CTV, a new opcode that enables the creation of smart contracts, amongst other things.

      • Learn More: Official Docs

  • Taproot

    • MuSig 2

      • Description: A next-gen multisig protocol that enables key aggregation.

      • Learn More: Research Paper

    • Graftroot

      • Description: A protocol for the generalization of Taproot which enables the delegations of the signatures of a bitcoin transaction.

      • Learn More: Bitcoin-Dev Link

    • Tapscript

      • Description: A scripting language for Taproot transactions. ****

      • Learn More: Bitcoin Optech

    • P2TR

      • Description: A new type of address for Taproot-powered transactions.

      • Learn More: Bitcoin Optech

  • Scriptless Scripts

    • Description: A scheme for the creation of private, off-chain smart contracts which leverage Adaptor Signatures.

    • Learn More: Github

  • Simplicity

    • Description: A low-level programming language that enables more expressive smart contracts to be built upon Bitcoin.

    • Learn More: Github

  • Stateless Contracts

    • BitML

      • Description: A new programming language for expressive Bitcoin smart contracts.

      • Learn More: Research Paper

  • FastKitten

    • Description: An off-chain smart contract framework which leverages trusted computing environments (TEEs) for the execution of complex Bitcoin smart contracts.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • Balzac

    • Description: A toolkit for the development of Bitcoin smart contracts featuring an abstract programming language, an analyzer and a compiler.

    • Learn More: Documentation

  • Echo

    • Description: A framework for the creation of interoperable smart contracts.

    • Learn More: Github

  • PARTICL

    • Description: A protocol for the creation of Bitcoin smart contracts enabled by the BIP 65 opcode.

    • Learn More: Documentation

  • tBTC

    • Description: A Bitcoin-backed ERC-20 token enabled by the KEEP network.

    • Learn More: Github

Privacy

  • CoinJoin

    • JoinMarket

      • Description: A marketplace that enables the creation of CoinJoin transactions.

      • Learn More: Github

    • Zerolink

      • Samourai

        • Description: A privacy-preserving protocol with an accompanying wallet.

        • Learn More: Official Website

      • Wasabi

        • Description: A privacy-preserving protocol with an accompanying wallet.

        • Learn More: Official Website

  • Whirpool

    • Description: one of the obfuscation technologies used by the Samourai wallet.

    • Learn More: Official Website

  • SNICKER

    • Description: A protocol that enables the creation of so-called Simple Non-Interactive Coinjoin with Keys for Encryption Reused, or SNICKERs, which are non-interactive CoinJoins.

    • Learn More: Github

  • Value Shuffle

    • Description: A coin mixing protocol based on CoinJoin and with compatibility with Confidential Transactions.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • JoinPool

    • Description: A protocol that enables users to share the ownership of a UTXO and attain privacy in doing so.

    • Learn More: Bitcoin Optech

  • Dandelion

    • Description: A network protocol that attempts to preserve the privacy of network participants.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • Confidential Transactions

    • Bulletproofs

      • Description: A non-interactive zero-knowledge proof protocol that can obfuscate the amounts transacted on-chain.

      • Learn More: Research Paper

  • CoinSwap

    • Description: A privacy-preserving solution that leverages atomic swaps to break the link of senders and receivers of Bitcoin.

    • Learn More: Bitcoin Wiki

  • Differential Privacy Mixers

    • Description: A mixing mechanism for transaction obfuscation that makes use of differential privacy.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • Clover: an Anonymous Transaction Relay Protocol for the Bitcoin P2P Network

  • AToM: Active Topology Monitoring for the Bitcoin Peer-to-Peer Network

    • Description: A framework for monitoring the topology of the Bitcoin network which helps in the identification of network-level privacy attacks.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • Donner: UTXO-Based Virtual Channels Across Multiple Hops

    • Description: A framework for the creation of payment channels with strong privacy assurances.

    • Learn More: Research Paper

Mining

  • Stratum

    • Stratum V2

      • Description: A protocol that improves the efficiency and decentralization of multiple processes related to Bitcoin mining.

      • Learn More: Research Report

  • FIBRE

    • Description: The Fast Internet Bitcoin Relay Engine (FIBRE) is a protocol that enables for the low-latency relay of Bitcoin blocks.

    • Learn More: Official Website

  • BetterHash

    • Description: A mining protocol which served as the basis for Stratum V2.

    • Learn More: Github

  • Braiins OS+

  • Bonanza Mine

    • Description: A new scheme for the construction of ultra-low-voltage Bitcoin Mining ASICs

    • Learn More: Research Paper

  • Moonwalk: NRE Optimization in ASIC Clouds

    • Description: A theoretical framework for the creation of ASIC clouds.

    • Learn More: Research Paper