Side Chain

Side Chain is a fully Bitcoin-compatible scaling solution designed to enhance scalability and lower transaction fees on the Bitcoin blockchain. Leveraging an interchain tech stack, it integrates a WASM-based smart contract environment, supporting applications across AI, DePIN, DeFi, and more. The chain also features multiple interoperable solutions, enabling seamless connectivity with ecosystems like Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, and beyond.

Side Chain leverages CometBFT, a high-performance consensus engine that serves as its backbone. This architecture facilitates fast transaction finality and high throughput, making it ideal for applications that require quick confirmation times. Smart contracts on Side Chain are executed in a Wasm VM, written in Rust for performance and security advantages. Rust's memory safety and Wasm's compatibility reduce vulnerabilities like re-entrancy attacks, common in Ethereum-based smart contracts.

The system is specifically crafted with Bitcoin-centric features to provide a seamless and frictionless user experience, and it paves the way for further innovations in decentralized finance for Bitcoin:

  • Bitcoin Address Compatibility: Side Chain is fully compatible with Bitcoin addresses (Taproot & Native SegWit), allowing users to interact with it without the need to create new wallets or manage multiple addresses.

  • Bitcoin Wallet Compatibility: Users can access Side Chain using their existing Bitcoin wallets (Unisat, OKX, Side Walet and more), simplifying the user experience and expanding access to the appchain by leveraging the Bitcoin wallet ecosystem.

  • DLC framework: Side Chain offers the first out-of-the-box DLC infrastructure, featuring threshold adaptor signatures, a threshold signing network, and decentralized Bitcoin oracles. This empowers developers to build trust-minimized applications, including P2Pool apps, on Bitcoin while staying fully aligned with its core ethos.

  • BTC as Native Gas Token: Unlike other blockchains that use their own native tokens for gas fees, Side Chain utilizes BTC as its native gas token.

  • BTC Bridging: Side Bridge serves as the canonical bridge facilitating the transfer of native BTC and Bitcoin-based assets between Side Chain and the Bitcoin network. The initial version of the bridge employs threshold signatures, making it custodial but suitable for users who are more trust-tolerant.

  • DeFi Services: Side Chain, as a Bitcoin appchain, offers a range of decentralized banking services, including a DEX embedded within the system, allowing users to seamlessly trade BTC, Bitcoin assets (such as Runes), and other crypto assets.

  • Interoperability: Side Chain integrates with several established cross-chain communication protocols (such as IBC Protocol), facilitating the bridging of assets from various blockchain systems.

Last updated