Black cat and white cat, provided that you are truly a cat Zongguan Line is a temporary band formed by Luo Dayou, Li Zongsheng, Zhou Huajian, and Zhang Zhenyue in 2008. They have a song called "Outlaws" that I really like. When I was young, I didn't know what I liked, maybe just the four words "outlaw" and thought it was cool. As I grow older, I gradually begin to understand the meaning of the lyrics. Let's sneak in! ⬇️ “ When the sound of the car rumbles and the dream begins to ache, it rolls up the wind and reshapes every face The night mist is so thick, open and turbulent, and I have a premonition that the end of the road is a maze ” This is all my feelings about the Bitcoin ecosystem today. One round of BTC Layer 2, one round of BTCFi, interspersed with inscriptions, runes Ordinals NFT， We used to be really lively and dominated the media headlines. But after BTC reached a new historical high, traditional ETF capital flocked to it, and Bitcoin ecosystem projects issued coins one after another, the entire industry fell into nothingness and silence? Hey, pull the sheep? You guys don't really make up so many stories, create so many terms just to issue coins, and then just use yacht models, leaving me waiting for the high-speed train at the beach, right? No way, no way. So I started to reorganize the Bitcoin ecosystem projects and team's dynamic tracking on @ RootDataCrypto. When I was screening the Bitcoin ecosystem - Layer 2- Single Chain, guess how many results there were? The answer is 77. That is to say, there are 77 Bitcoin Layer 2 single chains, of which 15 are marked as soon to be launched and 4 are on the testnet. Rootdata has a fun thing, each project has a one sentence description, and I laughed out loud here: each project has its own definition and understanding of BTC Layer 2, and I even saw BTC Layer 2.5 Here we bring up an old topic that has been debated for many years: how to define BTC Layer 2? To this day, BTC Layer 2 is closer to a marketing term, black cat and white cat, catching mice is a good cat. But you must really be a cat, right? The real situation now is that there is no clear definition of what a cat is. With questions in mind, looking at each project one by one, I originally wanted to write an article about my understanding of BTC Layer 2. Well, someone has already written it, and it's very impressive. This person is Kein @ kevinliub, the core contributor of GOAT Network @ GOATRollup. Kevin wrote an article titled 'Benchmarking Proposal for Bitcoin's Native Layer 2 Network: Establishing Community Standards for Authenticity and Trust'. When I first saw him, I thought he was teaching me how to do things and setting standards for the industry, but he wasn't. He is sincere, objective, rational, and restrained. In fact, he has sent an invitation letter to the industry, suggesting that everyone form a consensus and gradually approach the standards, with the main purpose of promoting collaborative development in the future. Nevertheless, he was cautious in dividing the proposal into Core Must Haves and Nice to Haves optional enhancements: Core essential items Trust free settlement on the Bitcoin mainnet Dispute resolution must be anchored to the Bitcoin mainnet Mandatory exit mechanism without the need for third-party permission Proof based trust minimization bridging mechanism Continuously maintaining linearity and resilience Optional enhancement options Fast and efficient exit mechanism Gas mechanism priced in native BTC Economic incentive mechanism for honest behavior As a science popularization writer, I believe that this proposal is not only a technical blueprint, but also a reconfirmation of the values of the Bitcoin community. It reminds us that the extension layer of Bitcoin should not just be a technical stack, but should carry the decentralized spirit of Bitcoin and become a bridge connecting traditional finance and DeFi. To elaborate, the proposal attempts to correct the issue of terminology abuse and trust dilution in the current L2 ecosystem by returning to the spirit of Bitcoin's de trust and decentralization, while providing direction suggestions for technological innovation and community collaboration. GOAT Network, as a practitioner of the proposal, has demonstrated the feasibility and potential of these standards through innovations such as BitVM2, decentralized Sequencer, and sustainable revenue models. The GOAT BitVM2 testnet has just been launched, which can be considered as the first truly Bitcoin native ZK Rollup project. I see that Rootdata describes it as a "sustainable BTC revenue network", which can indeed be said that if everything is perfectly implemented, Bitcoin will enter a new stage of "verifiability, strong security, and real revenue". The goal and highlights of GOAT BitVM2 can be summarized in one sentence by implementing layer 2 computation verification and asset settlement on the Bitcoin mainnet. How was it actually achieved? verifiability GOAT Network requires L2 states to be anchored to the Bitcoin mainnet every block or every few hours, using zero knowledge proofs (ZK Proofs) to ensure transparency and verifiability of the state, avoiding relying solely on Merkle roots or multi signature signatures. If there is fraudulent behavior, it can be directly challenged on the main network to ensure the verification of Bitcoin miners, rather than off chain intermediaries. safety The developer of GOAT Network is ZKM, and another typical case of ZKM is @ MetisL2. Therefore, a decentralized Sequencer naturally emerged, combined with a dual penalty mechanism and unmanaged bridging. Even if all points fail, the exit channel remains open. Users can log out unilaterally at any time. real income By pledging BTC and Dogecoin, one can receive incentives for honesty and integrity, while committing wrongdoing will result in asset reduction. BTC, as a native gas, maintains ecological consistency and supports various DeFi applications, providing BTC holders with more extended financial services. // “ Truth is only a decoration in a dark room until absurdity is proven Only when the eyes light up will there be a chance to showcase its value It's not up to anyone to decide ” The ending of 'Outlaws' goes like this. Indeed, Kevin's proposal provides a topic for discussion for all developers and users of the Bitcoin ecosystem. I am happy to see various debates and criticisms, as this is what the Bitcoin ecosystem should look like. But don't stop arguing, make bold assumptions, and be careful to verify. GOAT Network may set an example for the industry, let's wait and see. This is a soft core science popularization article, through which you can have a partial understanding of the following knowledge: The Bitcoin ecosystem is in a predicament Bitcoin Layer 2 Standard Initiative ▰ The desperados sound great (not really) Author: Anymose | A Soft Core Science Popularization Writer <End of Full Text>