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BitcoinOS (BOS), a Bitcoin rollups protocol, successfully verified the first zero-knowledge (ZK) proof on the blockchain’s mainnet at 11:22 pm UTC on July 24.
The <a href="https://mempool.space/tx/0a95f5c58f2b47414b46ff2b308e2eb9eab41bf0d53fc744ea7886ea22e97d55" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">achievement</a> makes it possible to unlock new levels of functionality and scalability on the Bitcoin mainnet without requiring further changes to the blockchain’s base layer.
In a written Q&amp;A with Cointelegraph, Edan Yago, co-founder of BOS, said the development “represents an era where Bitcoin is no longer just digital gold.”
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “It is also an operating system and a platform on which the entire world of decentralized applications can be built. [...] This marks a chapter where Ethereum, Solana and all of the other layer-1 projects are no longer safe from competition by Bitcoin.”
</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/polygon-plonky3-enhancing-ethereum-scalability" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Polygon launches upgraded ZK proving system Plonky3</a>
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="implications-of-mainnet-zk-proof-verification">Implications of mainnet ZK-proof verification</h2>
The technology behind the mainnet verification is BOS’s ZK Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (zk-SNARK) verification software library, BitSNARK.
According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, BitSNARK enables developers to create “near-trustless bridges” to move Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC</a>)&nbsp;between the mainnet and layer-2 rollups.
Yago explained the implications of establishing ZK-proofs on the mainnet, stating that a transaction could now represent “many hundreds and thousands of transactions.”
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “A single Bitcoin transaction can now be used for transacting privately and for things like smart contracts.”
</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/starkware-verifies-first-zero-knowledge-proof-on-bitcoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">StarkWare verifies first zero-knowledge proof on Bitcoin</a>
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="bitcoin-blockchain-turned-operating-system">Bitcoin blockchain turned operating system</h2>
Yago explains that ZK’s breakthrough in proving verification on the Bitcoin mainnet aligns closely with the firm’s goal, allowing it to be essentially turned “into an operating system.”
Yago explained that by transforming the Bitcoin mainnet into “more than a transaction system for payments,” it could be used “for decentralized services and activities, like DAOs, DeFi, anything you can imagine.”
Regarding upgradeability, Yago said that “the only way to upgrade Bitcoin is through soft forks and changes to the consensus,” but this is no longer the case.
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “It is now possible to introduce any kind of features that you want to Bitcoin, in a permissionless way, [...] to turn what a lot of people thought was a disadvantage, the fact that it was ossifying and the fact that it was very difficult to change, into its main advantage.”
</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-trader-warns-local-btc-price-top-530m-etf-inflow" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin trader warns of local BTC price top after $530M ETF inflows</a>
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="starkware-secures-first-testnet-verified-zk-proof">StarkWare secures first testnet verified ZK-proof</h2>
On July 17, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/starkware-verifies-first-zero-knowledge-proof-on-bitcoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">StarkWare announced the historic milestone</a> of successfully verifying its own ZK-proof on the Bitcoin testnet, Signet.
The development followed three months of “OP_CAT” exploration by the firm, which allowed it to establish its new STARK verifier on the network.
The verifier laid the foundation for ZK-based layer-2 solution development to help improve Bitcoin’s scalability and advance global payment opportunities on the blockchain.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/pudgy-penguins-pixelverse-ether-etfs-price-impact-hodlers-digest-july-14-20/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Pudgy Penguins lands in Pixelverse, Ether ETFs, and more: Hodler’s Digest, July 14-20</a>

Bitcoin mainnet receives first-ever verified ZK-proof

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