Re:Smart contracts on Bitcoin
by wmf on Thursday January 14, 2021 @05:22PM
(#25783583)
Stacks doesn't inherit Bitcoin's network effects except for mining security. No existing Bitcoin wallets or exchanges can make Stacks transactions, while many Ethereum wallets are flexible enough to support arbitrary tokens or smart contracts.
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> except for mining security
where did you see that? I don't think their security model has any connection with Bitcoin mining. They are not merged-mining with bitcoin
I believe they're using checkpoints similar to the security service that komodo was offering to other chains.
The system selects one of a set of competing miners to produce the next block via a VRF whose state is recorded to Bitcoin OP_RETURNs. There is at most one Stacks block per Bitcoin block, and the probability of winning is proportional to the relative amount of BTC burnt or transferred.
The system's design is well-documented via the SIP process. See https://github.com/stacksgov/sips (you'll want to read SIP-001 and SIP-007 in particular).