Bitcoin is still a young protocol in every way. These teenage years are arguably more formative than any other period in its short history, as the stakes are already quite high for a revolutionary project with less than two decades of testing and growth. As I've seen new investors, developers, users, and marketers flock to Bitcoin over the past 18 months, the fundamental reasons for the so-called Bitcoin Renaissance seem to be taking a back seat.
During this period, I was asked countless questions like “What do you think of this new L2?” or “Will this new L2 actually work?” In almost every case, my answer was, “I don’t know.” Building on Bitcoin is difficult and many people don't know how. So, it's hard to know exactly what a person is building, let alone whether it will work, if they themselves don't know what they're doing. But this reality certainly hasn't discouraged founders and investors from trying to turn a profit.
In short, this new era of Bitcoin activity is largely defined by marketing rather than true innovation.
Engineering first, marketing second
My academic and professional background is in mathematics and cryptography, not marketing. I understand the importance of developing a strong brand for a winning product or protocol, but marketing alone is not sufficient at best and very dangerous at worst. Innovative ideas need solid foundations, not just ideas. Satoshi’s latest forum post began with the words every Bitcoin builder should take to heart: “There is still work to be done (…)“Marketing-backed Bitcoin projects are doomed to failure and to the detriment of their users, investors, and the community at large.
One symptom of this dynamic is the simple lack of white papers. Although these documents are often boring and seem optional to most people, white papers are intended to be a tool for explaining new ideas as clearly as possible in order to invite criticism, imitation, and implementation. real. But well-written white papers seem to be an afterthought for most of these new projects claiming to build on Bitcoin. Instead, the industry landscape has been defined by marketing materials.
The signs of this type of project are easy to spot. Rhetoric such as “Bitcoin powered”, “Bitcoin aligned” or “Bitcoin hybrid” are often used. In many cases, this language is communicated to hide the fact that these protocols are not actually built on top of Bitcoin. In other cases, this marketing is used to distract from the fact that no one – even the founders – knows what they are building, but they want to leverage the Bitcoin brand anyway.
What comes to mind when I consider this unfortunate reality is a principle from the world of cryptography called security through obscurity. In short, this idea means that no one knows how a given thing works, so it might actually be secure. To be clear, this is not something a serious engineering team aspires to.
At Botanix Labs, we are building an EVM equivalent layer with a testnet running on Bitcoin at release time. Instead of launching with a new token and looking for exchange listings, we focus on creating a simple and secure protocol. Instead of playing marketing games, we focus on building an ecosystem of standalone apps that people want to use.
We started conceptualizing the Spiderchain at the end of 2022.
We launched a testnet in November 2023.
We plan to launch the first version of our mainnet this summer.
We believe that building is the best way to help Bitcoin succeed.
We are the guardians
Reviewing new Bitcoin projects is not an activity accessible only to the most experienced software engineers and cryptographers. Anyone using Bitcoin can and should ask simple questions, such as:
- “Who has the keys?” »
- “Is this Sybil resistant?
- “Can Operators Execute a Hostage Attack?”
- “What are your basic security assumptions? »
But all these questions should already be answered in plain English in a white paper. Any project without a clear design, clearly documented security risks, and a clearly formulated analysis of its tradeoffs and objectives is part of the problem. Unfortunately, this seems to have quickly become the norm in the Bitcoin second layer landscape. At Botanix Labs, we carefully explain our protocol design, attack vectors, and more in our white paper, available on our website. home page.
Cyberpunks write code. But the rise of new second-layer Bitcoin protocols (many of which don't deserve that title) has forgotten this simple truth. We cannot and should not rely on regulators and auditors to correct this situation. We, the Bitcoin community, should stay focused on the long-term mission and ignore short-term gimmicks.
What someone builds should matter more than how they market it. And for any serious Bitcoin-based project, marketing is never more important than security. Standardizing this principle across all areas of the Bitcoin industry is a responsibility shared by every person working in Bitcoin.
The fight against Fiat
Bitcoin is a movement, not a cash grab. And I believe we can and must do better than the ideas and projects offered to the market in this ongoing Bitcoin renaissance. Don't stay silent. Do not accept this behavior. Don't expect the market to eliminate these bad actors on its own.
We are in a fight against a fiat regime that desperately needs us to fail in building a decentralized, permissionless financial system that has run on Bitcoin for centuries. But most new Bitcoin-branded projects don't think ahead more than 12 months.
How does this improve the world or fulfill our shared mission?
Satoshi Nakamoto left the Bitcoin world, writing: “I have moved on. (Bitcoin) is in good hands. These hands are our hands, and everyone who cares about the future of money needs to be vigilant to make sure they stay good.