Bitcoin developers move to a consensus measure on soft contracts

A small, but significant development in Bitcoin's decentralized consensus process is taking place, with some developers moving to publicly gauge sentiment about soft war proposals that would add to the software's rule set .

Notably, the effort began today with the creation of a page on the Bitcoin Wiki website titled “Contracts Support,” with which the reputable developers of the network can confirm their interest in at least nine suggestionswith a six-option rating system.

The effort is unrelated to Bitcoin Core, the network's main software implementation.

However, it is special, because the process is evoked in the Bitcoin consensus update in the past, going back to the first soft fork, P2SH, in 2012and continuing through the famous Fork Wars, with SegWitthe most controversial change to date, with both having dedicated Wiki pages.

Contracts, a way to limit the terms of spending certain UTXO, has been gaining attention since 2021, with the introduction of OP_CTV, written by developer Jeremy Rubin, although at the time there were different views on the strength of the proposal and its motivation.

Among those being considered for developer sentiment are OP_VAULT, a contract scheme specifically aimed at custody, and OP_CAT, a modification that would bring back capabilities from the Satoshi era, such as the ability to perform complex code queries.

Already weighing in is Luke Dashjr, one of the network's longest-serving contributors, along with newer entrants such as Jon Attack, Brandon Black, and MoonSettler.

If the effort gains traction, the page may appear as one to watch.

Bitcoin regulatory process, although there is much debateit has rarely adhered to a specific process, with some long-time donors arguing against the need for a process at all.

However, the move is a sign of overall interest among the development community in moving forward with code updates that improve Bitcoin for users, although there will likely still be debate over which update is preferred, as well as the method of implementation that would allow it.

This article is a Take. The views expressed are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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