The Bitcoin Virtual Machine Breakthrough Nobody Saw Coming
summary
A proposal called BiNoHash lets a BitVM bridge verify a single Bitcoin transaction without proving the whole chain by staging a special kickoff output and feeding a compact proof into BitVM. It uses signature puzzles, ECDSA variable‑length encodings, and an abuse of FindAndDelete plus OP_CheckMultisig to create ~40–50 bits from a 150‑choose‑10 subset and two rounds to reach about 80 bits of entropy (attacker cost estimated ~$300k–$3M). The construction is implemented as a scripted kickoff spend and appears workable but relies on legacy quirks and high puzzle grinding cost.
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chapters (14)
- 0:00Start
- 1:22Why BitVM bridges needed a better proof system
- 1:57Transaction introspection and the missing opcodes
- 2:48The big script vs. small script problem explained
- 3:35Andrew Poelstra, Schnorr signatures, and covenant hacks
- 4:53Signature puzzles and ECDSA variable-length encoding
- 6:27How proof-of-work nonces act as a data fingerprint
- 9:00FindAndDelete: the legacy opcode nobody understood
- 11:38Abusing ECDSA to trigger FindAndDelete on purpose
- 13:03OP_CheckMultisig trick: unlocking 40+ bits of entropy
- 14:13Pushing to 90 bits and the $3 million attack floor
- 15:52How BiNoHash plugs into BitVM kickoff transactions
- 19:16Security guarantees for operators and challengers
- 20:49Is this an argument for or against a Bitcoin soft fork?
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