Computing on Bitcoin #50
August 01, 2025 - Week 31
Welcome to a new edition of Computing on Bitcoin News.
Each week, we bring you the latest research, protocol developments, and ideas that are shaping what's next for Bitcoin.
We curate the stories that matter keeping you informed and inspired at the frontier.
BitVMX released a new batch of open-source components under the MIT license, written in Rust, to make its ecosystem more accessible and composable. The update includes a Key Manager, Storage Backend, and Settings libraries.
bitvmx.org/knowledge
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Introducing BitVMX New Open Source Components: Key Management, Storage, and Configuration
Each of these components is designed with modularity, reusability, and developer experience in mind. Together, they form part of a broader, production-oriented toolkit for building decentralized systems and experimental protocols on Bitcoin using Rust.
Bitfinex published an article on how BitVMX Watchtowers could improve the security and decentralisation of the Lightning Network. By using fraud proofs, BitVMX turns watchtowers into programmable and verifiable agents whose actions can be audited and challenged on-chain, reducing trust in any single operator and enhancing Lightning’s resilience for mainstream adoption.
blog.bitfinex.com
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How can BitVMX Watchtowers Help Improve the Lightning Network?
Watchtowers are specialised services in the Bitcoin Lightning Network that protect users from fraud by monitoring the blockchain and intervening if an outdated channel state is maliciously broadcast. Their importance lies in safeguarding users who may be offline or unable to respond to disputes in real-time, a key vulnerability in Lightning’s off-chain payment model. However, traditional watchtower designs often rely on centralised, trusted parties, which introduces censorship and privacy concerns. BitVMX introduces a new solution to this problem by enabling watchtowers to act as programmable, verifiable agents.
An article in Bitcoin Magazine argues that upgrades like BitVM, OP_CAT, and OP_CTV could stabilize Bitcoin’s consensus by opening new miner fee avenues and reducing reliance on large mining pools, ultimately strengthening Bitcoin’s security and decentralization.
bitcoinmagazine.com
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Pooling in OP-CAT’s World
Counter to popular discourse, we argue that upgrades to Bitcoin — such as the BitVM, OP_CAT or OP_CTV — will stabilize Bitcoin consensus. By opening up new miner fees and reducing reliance on extractive pooling schemes, additions to Bitcoin will create network sustainability, push miners away from more dangerous forms of expressivity and help Bitcoin maintain its lead in stability without injecting rivalrous or centralizing forms of revenue.
BOB claims to be the first Hybrid ZK Rollup, pioneering the use of zero-knowledge proofs both as fraud proofs and for on-demand validity proofs.
blog.gobob.xyz
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BOB is the first Hybrid ZK Rollup
Traditionally, rollups have followed two separate models: optimistic rollups, which assume transactions are valid but require a 7-day challenge window, and validity rollups, which verify transactions instantly via zero-knowledge proofs but are expensive to operate. OP Kailua introduces a third Hybrid ZK option by applying ZK proofs to the fraud resolution process in optimistic rollups, merging low operating costs with fast finality, dramatically increasing scalability, security, and decentralization in layer-2 design. This model also gives the option to submit validity proofs on demand, allowing BOB to get the best of both worlds: cheap transactions and verification by default, and full validity for fast finality when required.
That’s all for this week’s Computing on Bitcoin News.
Thank you for joining us as we track the latest in Bitcoin research, scaling, and innovation.
We’ll be back next Friday with more updates and insights from the frontier of decentralized technology.
The Fairgate Team