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Over the
last decade, blockchains have evolved. From simple peer-to-peer payment
networks, they grew into full-fledged decentralized computers. The advent of
smart contracts has pushed the industry forward. It has also provided a
multitude of use cases for crypto.
Bitcoin
also allows for some programmability, as we’ve recently seen with the popular
Ordinals protocol. It seems that Bitcoin’s 1st generation blockchain still has
some aces up its sleeve when it comes to smart contracts. As such, you
shouldn’t hastily use the BTC
to ETH converter, but instead learn about
these capabilities.
This
article will lay out the smart contract capabilities of BTC and ETH and compare
them head to head. It should give you enough information to decide which
network you should use.
Diving Into Bitcoin’s Script
Bitcoin
uses the Script programming language for programming its smart contracts. For
security reasons, this language is purposefully not Turing-complete. It only
allows a limited scope when programming smart interactions with the network and
prevents looping. For example, when comparing it to ALGO vs
SOL, Script has much more limited
capacity.
The main
usage for Script is to define the conditions on how users spend assets on the
blockchain. It allows the users to sign a transaction and update the
distributed Bitcoin ledger.
Limited Smart Contract Functionality
Script
is intentionally simplified to prevent security attacks on the network.
However, over the years, Bitcoin developers have enhanced the base stack of the
code.
Each
upgrade upon the initial code follows the Bitcoin ethos. It stays consistent
with its core principles of remaining secure from outside attacks. For
instance, developers released the Ordinals Protocol. It uses the Taproot
upgrade to store data in Bitcoin transactions. As a result, users can now
create fungible and non-fungible tokens on Bitcoin.
Where to Use Bitcoin’s Scripting
Language?
Script’s
major use case remains in the treatment of transactions on the Bitcoin network.
It allows the protocol to validate transactions. It also ensures that BTC is
spent correctly between two parties.
What Is Ethereum’s Solidity?
Gavin
Wood created the Solidity programming language. Its goal was to provide
blockchain technology with more utility. The native language of Ethereum
supports the creation of smart contracts. It is Turing-complete. This means
that the language can manipulate and change data. This provides developers the
power to run decentralized applications.
Smart Contract Functionality
Solidity
allows developers to deploy decentralized protocols that run on Ethereum
Virtual Machine. This EVM acts as a global, decentralized computer.
For
example, Solidity provides various token standards. The ERC-20 token standard
revolutionized the industry. It allows anyone to mint fungible tokens on
Ethereum. On the other hand, ERC-721 provides a standard for non-fungible
tokens or NFTs. These can store complex data such as images, video, text,
etc.
Moreover,
Solidity allows for the deployment of decentralized applications. These complex
pieces of software allow programming user interactions within the blockchain.
For example, they can act as decentralized token exchanges. They can also be
lending protocols, NFT marketplaces, and even blockchain-based
games.
Rich Ecosystem
This
versatility of Solidity has allowed Ethereum to grow into one of the most used
blockchain networks in the industry. DEXes and lending protocols provided the
cornerstones for building the decentralized finance industry.
The
emergence of token standards has allowed for the tokenization of the industry
as a whole. It provided projects with a decentralized way to fund their
ventures. It also allowed their community to participate in governance.
The DAO
ecosystem on Ethereum is growing. It shows the incredible potential of the
technology for decentralizing companies.
Script vs Solidity: Smart Contract
Competition
If we
have to choose between the two, Solidity is much more versatile and functional.
Script is intentionally bogged down to avoid any weaknesses in the protocol.
So, launching decentralized applications (dApps) is reserved for
Ethereum.
Still,
Bitcoin developers are providing some crucial upgrades with the Ordinals
protocol. While it doesn’t allow for dApps, users can now mint tokens on top of
Bitcoin. This has proven to be incredibly popular in the crypto community in
recent months.
