Could The Next Big Ethereum Killer Be Bitcoin? (Opinion)

Ethereum isn’t the only hot cryptocurrency in May, with some big app-wide changes and a new roadmap.

Bitcoin, the class originator and market cap leader, approved a subtle but big change in May to the way it approves transactions. The network will no longer limit transactions with files larger than 80 bytes.

Bitcoin Opens Up For Business

Previously, Bitcoin limited these types of transactions with an output type called OP_RETURN. The network automatically canceled transactions with files above a tiny size limit. It would turn these into outputs that were unspendable on the network.

But, blockchain developers have found workarounds. For example, there is the BRC-20 standard exploiting Bitcoin ordinals to link files to the blockchain.

Acknowledging the reality of the community, industry, and market’s demand, the Bitcoin Core developer community is scrapping it. They will no longer let OP_RETURN stand in the way of further development along these lines.

That’s another chink in the armor of hardcore BTC maximalists that view Bitcoin NFTs as junk mail on the blockchain and all altcoins and second-layer currencies as distractions from the original cryptocurrency’s true import.

While Bitcoin can be “wrapped” or deposited in smart contracts on other crypto apps like Ethereum and Cardano, and then used in their ecosystems, a smart contract issuance system built right on the old Satoshi layer is another way to do it.

Would BTC Prices Go Much Deeper on a Bitcoin App Layer?

If they press to build a marketable product, the Bitcoin L2 developer community may find along the way that it has certain key advantages over deploying BTC on another L1 network.

CashApp Block founder and CEO Jack Dorsey (who also founded Twitter) predicts Bitcoin will reach $1 million in price by 2030. He was also an early Lightning Network advocate and remains a vocal Lightning proponent.

Could a Bitcoin second layer app ecosystem be part of what the crypto doyen envisions priced into that $1 million Bitcoin price forecast?