Table of contents
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Creation history
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Technologies and products
2.1. Rootstock
2.2. RIF
2.3 Roadmap for 2024-2025
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Ecosystem and development
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Tokenomics
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Team
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Investors and finance
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Activities
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Results
1. Creation History
The RSK project is one of the pioneering initiatives on the Bitcoin network, launched in 2015. Originating from the QixCoin project, which first introduced the concept of payment for execution, now known as “gas,” RSK was developed by the same team. The project aimed to create functionality comparable to Ethereum based on previous advancements. In the summer of 2022, the project rebranded as Rootstock, a sidechain on the Bitcoin network.
Alongside Rootstock, the team developed various products based on RSK, including dApps such as DEX, Wallet, Domain Service, and more. These dApps were built on general-purpose protocols encompassing payments, storage, computing, communications, and gateways/bridges. The goal was to establish a comprehensive RIF ecosystem (RSK Infrastructure Framework), unified under the RIF OS technology.
Although the unified RIF OS ecosystem was only partially realized, the company’s current focus is on implementing Layer-2 solutions on Bitcoin via Rootstock. RIF Labs has developed several protocols and dApps, refocusing itself as a development team for Rootstock. The subsequent discussion will delve into Rootstock technology (RSK) and RIF products as key technological innovations.
2. Technologies and products
RIF OS includes a large set of different services at each level of interaction:
2.1 Rootstock
Powpeg
The core technology of the Rootstock network is Powpeg, a two-way peg protocol designed to connect different decentralized networks, specifically the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and Bitcoin. Rootstock is fully EVM-compatible, meaning it functions similarly to the Ethereum network.
The Ethereum and Bitcoin networks have fundamentally different execution and block formats, making direct interaction between them impossible. For two different networks to communicate, their states must be readable at any point in time, necessitating the transfer of cross-chain messages using smart contracts. Since the Bitcoin network lacks native cross-chain messaging functionality, implementing classic cross-chain interaction is impossible. Moreover, cross-chain messaging was largely unexplored at the project’s inception.
Bitcoin also faced technical limitations, many of which persist today. Consequently, the project team utilized the only feasible technology available on the Bitcoin network at the time: multisignature (multisig) signatures. A multisig wallet was created on the blockchain, with multiple addresses acting as signers. Transactions could be sent and confirmed only by majority vote, decentralizing trust and eliminating a single point of failure.
Building on the multisig wallet, the team developed add-ons for automatic transactions. However, this approach had a significant drawback: a lack of true decentralization. The signatories of the wallet were individual people and organizations. If they colluded, they could potentially attack the network and cause irreparable harm. This structure is known as a federation, and the Layer-2 network itself is termed federated, as network decisions are based on the consensus of selected representatives rather than the entire network.
The largest wrapped Bitcoin, WBTC, operates according to a similar model. It has multi-sig wallets on the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks and 12 signatory companies known in the community. Well-known companies were specifically chosen, since there is one component here – a large company will not want to compromise its reputation in exchange for malicious actions against WBTC. The union of such large companies significantly strengthens this factor, since it is unlikely that 7 such companies at once (the majority required for signing) will be ready to destroy their reputation. In fact, this is the only guarantee that WBTC will be serviced correctly. But this is categorically opposed to the major concept of blockchain, decentralization and trustless.
Signatories to the Rootstock multisig protocol are called “Functionaries.” They connect specialized equipment known as PowHSM, which interfaces with a specific type of Rootstock node called Powpeg nodes. These nodes provide Functionaries with comprehensive information about the state of the Rootstock network and its transactions. PowHSM generates a unique private key for signing the multisig protocol, necessitating a secure and stable network connection to ensure the device’s confidence in network integrity.
Functionaries also need to monitor the Bitcoin network to verify transactions. Instead of deploying resource-intensive nodes for this purpose, the team…
Read More: Rootstock — the First Sidechain in the Bitcoin Network