Bitcoin Could Be Redesigned Like Zcash, But As A Sidechain

The latest Bitcoin news today show that developers are challenged to create a BTC sidechain with the privacy features of Zcash (ZEC), using the Drivechain technology. Bitcoin could be redesigned much like the privacy coin Zcash (ZEC), and the details are below.

This was first announced earlier today, showing that developers are now motivated to go through the Drivechain technology invented by the decentralized prediction market pioneer, Paul Sztorc.

As an added incentive, Sztorc is offering a prize fund of up to 6.1 Bitcoin (BTC) which will be awarded to the developer as a bounty for doing this upgrade. And if you are wondering why Bitcoin could be redesigned like Zcash with similar privacy features, the answer is below.

Basically, Drivechain is an implementation which allows for the creation of Bitcoin sidechains with a true two-way peg. This would obviously allow BTC holders to move their coins to any sidechain that they choose. Doing this could also allow users to benefit from characteristics and features not found on the main Bitcoin blockchain.

This could be a sidechain with large blocks as well as low fees, with smart contracts, or even with the improved privacy features of an altcoin. The Zcash news now show that ZEC has this functionality. As a reminder, the ZEC token has had a lot of positive attention lately, mainly for its partnerships with big companies.

If transferred to a sidechain, Bitcoin would be effectively held in escrow by miners, until it returns. To any outside observer, this is impossible to prove that the owner has been benefiting from the Zcash privacy technology.

Sztorc even provided a Drivechain sidechain template and challenged developers to do a “code transplant” from Zcash. This would essentially turn the altcoin into a sidechain. As both are code forks of Bitcoin, most of the source code already overlaps which means much less work.

The prize fund is to encourage developers to investigate his Drivechain technology as well as create a proof-of-concept for further testing. This challenge was set on April 20, and at the time of publication, nobody had claimed the prize. However, it is set to run until the upcoming Bitcoin halving which is scheduled for May 12.

The current price of Bitcoin (BTC) is now at $8,792 with a new 1.16% rise.