Bitcoin developers complete work on Taproot / Schnorr soft fork

The developers of the Bitcoin (BTC) cryptocurrency announced the completion of work on the upcoming soft fork of the BTC blockchain undercalled Taproot / Schnorr. The upgrade will be launched on the network after the programmers answer the questions of the crypto community.

Taproot and Schnorr will significantly improve the performance of the Bitcoin blockchain

The project of creating Taproot was announcedBitcoin Core employee Greg Maxwell in January 2018. The update is designed to increase the level of scalability of the network and improve the work of scripts. The software will be launched on the BTC blockchain at the same time as the Schnorr upgrade, designed to enable the aggregation of digital signatures and apply updates provided by Taproot.

Square Crypto Product Manager Steve Leestated that after the launch of the soft fork, the size of the commission for transactions in the BTC network will be reduced by 30-75%, while the time for adding a block will decrease by 2.5 times. The update is planned to be implemented in May 2020 after the completion of the feedback section on soft fork.

Key Features of Taproot

In the process of confirming money transfers toBTC blockchain uses public cryptographic keys. Softrock Taproot / Schnorr was created to eliminate the shortcomings of the current version of the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm associated with low transaction confidentiality and script interchangeability. An upgrade can solve these problems by hiding certain types of payments from third parties.

We offer you to consider the benefits of Taproot onAn example of a transaction with two signatures and three keys. To send cryptocurrency, the parties are required to transfer three keys and both signatures to the network node. After starting the update, the keys can be combined into one Schnorr signature and used to confirm the Taproot key, which includes all other keys. As a result, information about the keys and signatures used will be hidden from blockchain browsers. This will reduce the weight of the transaction and, accordingly, the commission, as well as increase the level of anonymity.

According to Steve Lee, Taproot makes it possibleto develop new scripts, since the upgrade allows you to combine several signatures and keys and removes restrictions on the number of scripts that can be used to send coins.

Business Attitude for Taproot / Schnorr Software

The Block company conducted a survey in whichOver 100 investors, analysts and heads of cryptocurrency enterprises took part. As a result, it was found that soft fork is in third place in the list of the most anticipated upgrades of 2020. Bitcoin Core Specialist Jimmy Song is confident that Taproot / Schnorr will not only save users money, but will also attract businessmen to the Bitcoin network. Experts believe that Taproot will be integrated into many crypto wallets to increase security and create new features.