Right now, a contract developer centered on Bitcoin and the Lightning Community, Tremendous Testnet, unveiled his newest invention, Hedgehog, a protocol for asynchronous layer two bitcoin funds.
“This can be a protocol just like the Lightning Community,” Tremendous Testnet said. “And that it’s a layer 2 for Bitcoin funds, solely on this one, not like the Lightning Community, the 2 events do not should each be on-line, it is asynchronous. One occasion can ship the opposite cash then they’re offline.”
One of many options of Hedgehog channels is its simplicity in comparison with lightning channels, in line with the mission’s Github. State updates in Hedgehog channels solely require the sender to suggest an replace, which the recipient can then settle for at their comfort. This asynchronous nature permits for extra flexibility and effectivity in fee processing.
The protocol works by leveraging a primitive in Bitcoin script generally known as “revocable connectors.” These connectors are constructed on two much more primitive parts: revocable scripts and connector outputs. Revocable scripts enable both occasion to revoke a transaction after a sure interval, including an additional layer of safety and management. Connector outputs assist you to assemble a pre-signed transaction spending a separate UTXO alongside the connector output, permitting the transaction to be invalidated by spending the connector output by itself.
For instance how Hedgehog channels function, contemplate a situation the place Alice opens a channel with Bob by sending a certain quantity of bitcoin right into a multisig deal with. Utilizing the revocable connectors, Alice can then ship off-chain funds to Bob whereas he’s offline. These funds are embedded in a bit of textual content, just like a cheque, and may be despatched by way of e-mail or different communication strategies.
When Bob comes on-line, he has the choice to just accept or reject the fee. If he accepts, he can cosign and broadcast the transaction to replace the channel stability. If he rejects, he can suggest an alternate transaction for Alice to contemplate.
One of many potential issues that Hedgehog wants to resolve is, as an example, if a celebration sends cash to their counterparty they lose the flexibility to power shut the channel as a result of they don’t have the opposite occasion’s signature. The protocol supplies a conditional revocation mechanism. This mechanism goals to permit the sender to revoke a earlier state conditionally, giving each events a window of time to override the transaction if wanted.
Moreover, Hedgehog addresses the difficulty of funds being caught in a multisig deal with if one occasion turns into completely unavailable. By incorporating time-lock circumstances into the script, the protocol can be sure that funds can nonetheless be accessed after a sure interval, even when one occasion is unable to supply their signature.
Tremendous Testnet posted that he has an concept for the best way to use Hedgehog channels to construct a federated CoinPool that he named Burrow. These occupied with that may study extra about it right here.