Almost $77 million of Bitcoin (BTC) is currently unavailable to use on the network — not because it is lost, but because it is locked up in sidechains. Bitcoin sidechains: a nascent market Data from block explorers confirms that as of Oct. 17, a total of 9,661 BTC ($76.96 million) or a tiny 0.054% of today’s Bitcoin supply resides in three major sidechain projects. Sidechains are separate blockchains tied to a cryptocurrency’s regular blockchain, i.e. mainchain. Users can interact with it via a pegging mechanism; they send funds to and from the sidechain, with security features ensuring coins are not …

There are mixed indicators regarding the current progress or stalling of blockchain adoption throughout the enterprise world. Research has indicated that investments have dropped by over half over the last year, contrary to other research showing a growing sentiment toward the vitality of blockchain adoption as an innovative technology. For example, Research by CB Insights in 2019 indicates that there may be a separation between corporate adoption and corporate investments into blockchain companies. As reported previously by Cointelegraph, blockchain investments have dropped by up to 60% since 2018. However, this decline does not seem to have affected the positive outlook …

Bitcoin Core developer Pieter Wuille has introduced a new Bitcoin (BTC) smart contract programming language called Miniscript. Wuille, a creator of major Bitcoin network upgrade SegWit, announced the Miniscript project website on the mailing list message for Bitcoin developers on Aug. 19. Miniscript was developed and implemented by Wuille, Andrew Poelstra and Sanket Kanjalkar at Canadian blockchain tech firm Blockstream Research. Wuille claimed that the project took the developers about a year, and it has now reached the stage where it needs to get more attention. Mini-Bitcoin script Miniscript is a language for writing a subset of Bitcoin scripts in …

Blockchain development company Blockstream announced the release of version 0.7.2 of its scalability software c-lightning. On Aug. 20, Christian Decker, a blockchain researcher at Blockstream, announced the new release on Twitter. According to the post, the latest version of c-lightning supports dynamic plugin management as well as “the upcoming signet.” This version is also named "Nakamoto's Pre-approval by US Congress,” and is available via GitHub. C-Lightning and the Lightning Network As previously reported by Cointelegraph, c-lightning is one of the implementations of the Lightning Network, which is an additional layer on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain that lets users set up …

Blockstream Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Samson Mow says Bitcoin (BTC) is bad for payments but the Lightning Network solves this. Mow — who is also a co-founder of formerly top cryptocurrency exchange BTCC — made his remarks in an interview for SFOX blog on Aug. 15. Lightning changes the whole equation Mow conceded that he doesn’t yet have an everyday use case for Bitcoin, quipping that in daily life, he still uses credit cards, not cryptocurrency. The top coin, he argued, is designed in such a way that has an altogether different purpose: “It’s more of a store of value …

Bitcoin (BTC) users can now take advantage of the Lightning Network while sending coins on Blockstream’s Liquid sidechain. Bitcoin’s Lightning Network designed to work across multiple chains Following the debut of support for stablecoin Tether (USDT) on Liquid, Blockstream CEO Adam Back confirmed on Twitter that the technology can also support Lightning payments. Using a combination of Lightning and Liquid allows users to benefit from the speed and low cost of off-chain transfers, along with the specific advantages of Liquid itself. “It's not so widely known but Lightning protocol is designed to work across multiple chains,” Back wrote July 30. …

Tether is now running on a sidechain of Bitcoin’s blockchain. While Tether has traditionally operated on the Omni Layer of Bitcoin, the United States dollar-backed stablecoin has begun spreading to other blockchain protocols this month. Most recently, Tether is now being offered on blockchain company BlockStream’s Liquid Network sidechain, according to an official announcement on July 29. According to the announcement, Liquid-based Tether — called Liquid USDT — is being offered immediately for deposits and withdrawals on Bitfinex. Additionally, the staff at Liquid are reportedly developing support for Liquid USDT on a number of other affiliated crypto exchanges, including OKEx, …

Blockchain software development BlockStream announced that its mobile wallet, Green Wallet, now supports the firm’s Liquid Network sidechain in a blog post published on July 5. Per the announcement, users of the wallet can now store, send and receive Liquid Bitcoin (L-BTC) and Issued Assets on the Liquid sidechain. The Liquid Network project, first discussed in 2015 and launched in October 2018, aims to allow for faster transactions with Bitcoin (BTC) between businesses and individuals with the use of its features. Bitcoin transactions on to the sidechain, where it moves as bitcoin liquid, are reportedly also more private: “L-BTC transactions …

Blockchain infrastructure firm Blockstream has launched a new tool that allows users to execute atomic swaps for all assets supported by the Liquid network, according to an announcement published on July 1. The Liquid Network is a federated sidechain on the bitcoin (BTC) blockchain that functions as a settlement and payments network for crypto exchanges, market makers, brokers, and other financial institutions. In addition to its support for privacy features such as Confidential Transactions, the network aims to combat delayed transaction finality on the bitcoin (BTC) network and allow for rapid and secure transfers so that traders can efficiently maximize …

Blockchain infrastructure firm Blockstream announced the launch of its security token platform in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 15. Per the announcement, the new Liquid Securities platform is a solution for businesses to issue security tokens on the Liquid Network. Blockstream Chief Security Officer Samson Mow claims that while businesses are willing to issue tokenized securities, platforms such as Ethereum are not the right choice because of their scalability, privacy and reliability limitations. Blockstream claims that its platform is more suitable for such use: “Now, with the launch of Liquid Securities, businesses can quickly issue Liquid-based security …

Intercontinental Stock Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) hinted it was adding a slew of new coins to its Cryptocurrency Data Feed in a tweet on March 14. Launched in January 2018, the Cryptocurrency Data Feed is a service offering real-time digital currency information, covering prices and order books. The platform was introduced following a partnership between ICE and Bitcoin (BTC) and blockchain technology company Blockstream. Per the recent announcement, ICE is extending the list of supported cryptocurrencies to thousands, also adding hundreds of venues. With this move, the company is ostensibly planning to …

Following the launch of working code last month, blockchain technology firm Blockstream hopes to successfully develop a new multisignature standard for Bitcoin transactions in the future. Alongside this, Blockstream also released its latest version of its Bitcoin scaling software c-lightning at the beginning of March, marking a busy period for the highly regarded development house. Upgrades to the Bitcoin protocol Historically, potential upgrades to the Bitcoin protocol (BTC) have been a big point of contention since its inception back in 2009. Satoshi Nakamoto’s original Bitcoin white paper is treated as something of a sacred text, and any changes to the …