Newsletter

The Bitcoin Bungalow | Issue 5 | April 30 2024

April 30, 2024

Christos Salaforis

4 minutes

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Happy Bitcoin Halving Month!

To celebrate the recent Bitcoin halving, here is a walkthrough on how you can use Ortege Studio to find data on block 840,000 which is where the Bitcoin halving occurred.

Step 1: Read the Documentation.

Step 2: Visit the Ortege Studio SQL Lab - if necessary, Sign Up!

Step 3: Write query:

To find the block data for the block created at the latest Bitcoin halving at block 840,000 using the provided dataset, you'll need to utilize the specific table where block data is stored. tbl_prod_br_bloc is the table that contains the details of Bitcoin blocks, including height, hash, and other attributes.

Here’s how you can construct a SQL query to retrieve the data for block 840,000:

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SELECT *
FROM db_btc.tbl_prod_br_blocks
WHERE height = 840000;

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Step 4: Run query:

Step 5: Create Chart:

📈 General Bitcoin Market News

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Fear and Greed Index

  • ‍Current Value: 67
  • Change Since Last Week: -5

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Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index
Click to View More Details

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Bitcoin Price Update

  • ‍Current Price: $61,219.65
  • Weekly Percentage Change: -5.2%
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‍Market Sentiment

  • Despite the excitement of the halving and the launch of the Hong Kong Spot ETF for Bitcoin, the market has taken a tumble.
  • Net ETF Outflows at -$860M seem to indicate an increase of fear: source‍
  • With Bitcoin having reached all time highs, greed has been high leading to profit taking. Potentially a 'Sell In May and Go Away' situation but remains to be seen.
  • The federal funds rate (FFR) is steady at 5.25-5.5%.
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BTC Liquidations

  • Total Shorts Liquidated: $87.7M
  • Total Longs Liquidated: $184.41M

Source

🌐 Bitcoin Ecosystem Updates

Stacks News

At Bitcoin block 840,360, the first fork kicked off the two-step rollout process that will bring the Nakamoto Upgrade. With the Release Rollout having begun, now the anticipated wait for activation begins, which is set to complete during the Activation Window: May 15-29. This grand upgrade to the network will usher in fast block times and transactions secured by 100% Bitcoin finality.

Key Changes with the Nakamoto Upgrade
  • Fast Block Production: The upgrade will decouple block production from cryptographic sortition, allowing for faster production of blocks. This change will enable miners to produce more blocks simultaneously while stackers help validate, eliminating the need for sortition.
  • Bitcoin Finality: Transactions on the Stacks blockchain will become as irreversible as those on Bitcoin, enhancing the immutability and security of the network.
  • Elimination of Forks: The upgrade aims to prevent the Stacks blockchain from forking on its own, ensuring more stability and consistency.
  • Fair Play in Mining: Adjustments to the sortition algorithm will reduce the advantage that Bitcoin miners currently have over Stacks miners, aiming to minimize Miner Extractable Value (MEV) manipulation and ensure fair competition.
  • Tying Block Production to Bitcoin: Stacks block production will be tied directly to Bitcoin block production, leading to synchronized and faster block times while maintaining security and preventing forks.
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The Nakamoto Upgrade is designed to address various issues within the Stacks ecosystem, including slow block times and challenges in miner cooperation, by implementing significant technical advancements to enhance speed, security, and fairness in mining practices.

Here's how easy it is to create a dashboard with Stacks data on Ortege Studio:

Check out our Stacks Nakamoto Dashboard

Sign Up

Stacks Ecosystem Update

Top Bitcoin Ecosystem Highlights

  • BOB | Build on Bitcoin
    • Mainnet launches on May 1: A guide on what is to come.
    • Orbiter Finance to integrate BOB. Orbiter Finance is a ZK-tech-based instant omni rollup on Ethereum, delivering secure, efficient, and decentralized data communication services.
    • Layer Zero to support BOB mainnet.
    • NFT aggregator, Artoshi, is set to support BOB.
    • coNFT to deploy on BOB.
    • BTC Connect, the first AA protocol for the Bitcoin ecosystem, is now natively available on BOB - read more.
    • Over 40+ collaborations with projects deploying or integrating with BOB. Things are heating up in preparation for mainnet.
BOB Ecosystem Map
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  • Merlin Chain:
    • Announced our strategic partnership with Antalpha Group. Antalpha Group will provide unmatched fund security solutions and digital asset management for Merlin users.
    • An upgrade to testnet was announced on April 26, set to include:
      • Support for precompiled contracts SHA256, ecAdd, ecMul, and ecPairing to substantially improve AA transactions.
      • Support for one block containing multiple transactions.
      • Enabling each block to have a timestamp.

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Exploring BitVMX: A New Frontier in Bitcoin Technology

A promising development, BitVMX, is capturing the attention of the Bitcoin community. This innovative framework is designed to facilitate the optimistic execution of arbitrary programs directly on the Bitcoin network, without the need for network forks.

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What sets BitVMX apart is its foundation in the N-party disputable computation paradigm, which allows the framework to function efficiently and securely. BitVMX introduces a unique method of locking funds within Bitcoin's unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs), which are only released following successful program execution as verified through a robust dispute resolution protocol. This protocol ensures that only legitimate transactions are processed, safeguarding against potential fraud.

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The BitVMX framework is not just a theoretical exercise; it has practical applications that could significantly expand Bitcoin's capabilities. For instance, it aims to support the running of fully-compliant RISC-V processors and is being developed to facilitate blockchain bridges, aggregator oracles, and even complex tasks like SNARK/STARK verification. This could lead to innovative use cases such as Zero Knowledge Contingent Payments, enhancing Bitcoin’s utility.

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This initiative is supported by Rootstock Labs, with notable contributions from their team in collaboration with Fairgate Labs. Together, they are pushing the boundaries of what's possible on the Bitcoin blockchain, aiming to provide a secure, extensible, and open-source solution that could transform blockchain interactions across numerous industries.

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As this technology continues to develop, it holds the potential to usher in a new era of blockchain functionality, expanding the scope of Bitcoin’s application far beyond its original design.

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Runes Ecosystem

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Runes is a new protocol standard that makes it simple to create fungible tokens on Bitcoin's blockchain — opening up a world of new use cases for the OG crypto.

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At Ortege, we already have Runes data you can query and create insights with – Sign up

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Closing Thoughts‍

As we reflect on this month's Bitcoin Halving and the transformative developments in the blockchain ecosystem, it's clear that innovation is at the heart of the cryptocurrency world. The introduction of technologies like BitVMX and the rollout of the Nakamoto Upgrade signal a future where Bitcoin is not only a store of value but also a robust platform for complex applications. Whether you're a developer, investor, or enthusiast, staying informed with the latest trends and tools, such as Ortege Studio, will keep you ahead in the rapidly evolving blockchain landscape. Let's embrace the changes and opportunities that lie ahead, and continue to build on the decentralized foundations that make Bitcoin truly revolutionary. Join us next time for more insights and updates. Happy Halving!

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