UIB: The new Holy Grail in the UTXO world

“UTXO Isomorphic Binding” technology is, in my opinion, a very significant innovation in the current round of BTC ecosystem development. I have repeatedly spoken about the importance and innovation of this technology. However, I have found that many people still do not understand the significance of this technology. This is due to a lack of technical understanding, and also ideological issues, which is why I am writing this article specifically to explain my understanding and judgement of this technology.

1. The necessity of BTC expansion

Let us first think about this question:Why does BTC need to scale?

This issue involves the core question of the necessity of BTC network expansion. If it is not necessary, then the whole ecosystem is actually a false proposition.

We can explain this problem from many aspects, such as:

1) The halving cycle of BTC decreases miners’ revenue, necessitating more on-chain activities to increase income and maintain network security. More on-chain activities require an expanded ecosystem to stimulate;

2) The TPS of the BTC network is very low, unable to meet the usage requirements of many scenarios. It needs a method to expand and make the network more powerful;

3) The network fee of BTC is very expensive, which makes it inconvenient for large-scale popularization. Especially as the price of BTC rises, the distance from ordinary people becomes further and further away, which will deviate from the original intention;

4) The operation codes that the BTC network can provide are very limited, only a few function definitions or combination operations can be implemented. The scripting language is not Turing complete, making it extremely difficult to implement smart contracts. Therefore, it needs a method to possess such characteristics;

5) BTC data is completely public. Although technologies such as HD WALLET can provide a certain degree of privacy, in most cases, it is traceable and lacks privacy. Therefore, it needs a method to enhance its privacy;

6）……

In fact, if you want, you will always find more reasons. Some of them may not be so sufficient, but they all reflect one problem - The BTC network indeed needs to expand!

2. Common options for BTC expansion

Typically, expansions choose one or several objectives and then design a plan to achieve these goals. For example, some common expansion plans include:

1) The sidechain approach involves creating a new chain, most of which are anchored to BTC through multi-signature authentication. On this chain, they have their own consensus mechanism and incorporate special settings to achieve corresponding functionality. For instance, Liquid has added script operation codes, asset issuance functions, and concepts of privacy assets;

2) The Lightning Network approach uses logical algorithms to achieve secure and fast off-chain interactions, making large-scale popular payments possible;

3) The client verification approach employs one-time sealing technology and off-chain technology to perform calculations off-chain, thereby simultaneously inheriting the security of the main network and the capabilities of smart contracts;

4) The inscription approach is based on UTXO to carry out limited processing, achieve asset issuance functions, and implement other enhanced features as needed;

5) The EVM-compatibility approach mostly starts with a heteromorphic multi-signature bridge, and then constructs an EVM-compatible chain using a structure similar to a sidechain. On this chain, the mature experience of EVM is used to build and to implement Dapps;

6) The modular approach references the development path of the EVM series. For possible parts of BTC expansion, it modularizes, such as the DA layer;

7) The Bitvm approach utilizes the limited operation codes to build complex functions, similar to a “circuit” concept;

8）……

Of course, there are other technical routes, and new ideas (mostly micro innovations) are constantly being introduced. In general, once we understand these veins, we can quickly judge the core connotation of a new idea.

Many debates have evolved on these expansions. Of course, there are always debates in crypto, such as the disputes between “orthodoxy and heterodoxy”, “nativism and non-nativism”, “whether BTC should be used as Gas”, and “long-term and landing”. Some have even evolved into conflicts between communities. From the perspective of a technical researcher, I think “there is no need” for such debates. It is difficult for anyone to 100% foresee the future, so you can choose the technical route you recognize by following your own value judgment.

3. The Emergence of UIB

Among the many routes, the cross-chain bridge model has been somewhat questioned for its “security”, and a single-layer asset protocol has been troubled due to its limited expansion development capabilities based on UTXO. Bitvm, leaning towards a complex construction cycle, needs to wait, and compatibility with EVM is considered to have poor orthodoxy by many within the BTC circle.

Is there a method that can reflect nativeness, ensure security, and also have high scalability?

This is UIB, full name: UTXO ISOMORPHIC BINDING.

This technology utilizes the isomorphic characteristics of the UTXO model. Through a “one-time sealing” method, it can map the UTXO of the target chain A to another Turing-complete UTXO chain B.

This technology was proposed by Cipher, the founder of Cell Studio, and specifically put into practice on CKB.

Let’s take a closer look at such a conceptual description:

1) First of all, both parties must be based on UTXO, there is no doubt about this;

2) In principle, Chain A may not be Turing complete, otherwise it could expand on its own chain. Of course, even if it is Turing complete, this isomorphism method can implement native asset mapping;

3) Chain B needs to be Turing complete, because the mapping process requires the constraints of Chain B to verify the correctness of state calculation and the validity of changing ownership;

4) In principle, asset issuance protocols based on Chain A can adopt the isomorphic form to do such mapping;

Please read the above four points carefully, and then you will find that it “makes sense for UIB to emerge!”

1) From the perspective of nativeness, it does not have any cross-chain bridge method, it is very native;

2) In terms of analysis, chain B provides a public DA layer to provide a basis for the construction of other modules;

3) From a security perspective, it is possible to achieve security equivalent to Chain A (although I am not particularly sure about this part, although there are related theoretical explanations)

4) From the perspective of expansibility, it fully undertakes the expansibility performance of Chain B;

That is to say:UIB allows you to find an excellent balance point in [nativeness] [security] and [scalability]

Of course, its limitation is: you need to have such a B chain, as well as various component codes required to implement the protocol.

4. Narrative space of UIB

UIB Can Do A Lot in the BTC Ecosystem

It can make public chains with B-chain characteristics become BTC’s L2, and assets can be mapped in a native way. After mapping, various expansion developments can be carried out on the B chain.

The specific context is as follows:

1) Take the recently popular RGB++ as an example. It is a new layer of asset protocol that can be mapped on CKB through UIB. At the same time, second-tier assets can also be combined into first-tier assets through LEAP to enhance orthodoxy.

2) Furthermore, other layer 1 asset protocols on the BTC mainnet can also be isomorphically mapped to the CKB network through UIB. This could greatly activate the funds currently deposited in various layer 1 asset protocols, providing them with more use cases and applications.

UIB can connect to other UTXO chains

Going a step further, can other networks replace the CKB network? Certainly, UIB can act as a middle layer protocol independent of CKB. We can map the various asset protocols mentioned above to other Turing-complete UTXO chains, each chain can improve and expand the UIB technology protocol.

Moving further, not only does the BTC network have layer 1 assets, but many other UTXO chains also have layer 1 asset protocols. The funds or communities accumulated on these chains might not be as large as the BTC network, but they’re still a significant force. However, limited by the design of early architectures, most of these networks lack Turing completeness. They will also become use cases for the application of UIB technology. In this way, UIB technology achieves native connections between the assets of various chains in the UTXO world.

So, what are these OTHER TURING-COMPLETE UTXO NETWORKS?

1) Obviously, the recently announced UTXO STACK is part of it; Using UTXO STACK, you can deploy a chain that is homologous to the CKB architecture with one click. These chains can naturally use UIB technology and, by sharing the security of the CKB network, can elevate the CKB network to the position of something like COSMOS HUB (I’m not sure if my statement is appropriate);

2) There will be more and more Turing-complete UTXO networks launched. These networks usually have their unique characteristics to achieve extreme features in some dimensions to adapt to their unique positioning attributes;

3) Following this idea, there will also be UTXO STACK based on other networks. They serve to expand the ecosystem of other networks and enhance the status of the main network;

This group will get larger and larger, which will also make the UIB technology more and more widely adopted.

So, do you see this context clearly?!

5. So, what is UIB?

So, what do you think UIB, or UTXO Isomorphic Binding, is now?

It is a middle layer that can isomorphically map layer-1 assets of various UTXO worlds to layer-2, allowing them to enter the era of smart contracts!

It is a universal technology that can be used in many places in the UTXO world, connecting various separate small worlds!

It is an important innovation in the development of the BTC ecosystem!

It is the new Holy Grail of the UTXO world!

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