Latest:
Blog Cryptocurrency 

Taproot Update Timeline

Nxtgen Virtue

Snapshot

  • Timeline of Upgrade

After the SegWit upgrade in 2017, it has been the first upgrade. The taproot update will add greater privacy, security, scalability to Bitcoin transactions. The new update will bring Bitcoin in competition with blockchains like Ethereum.

The new update will also provide users with wallet functionality and reduced fees for complex transactions. It will also provide developers with more functionality to develop new projects which previously were not possible on Bitcoin Blockchain.   

If everything goes as planned, there are various features available in this new update that could prove to be a game-changer for Bitcoin. 

Timeline of Upgrade

When it comes to updating, Bitcoin had a slow and steady journey, unlike its peers, such as Ethereum. Before the implementation of the upgrade, every upgrade must receive consensus from all the validators and miners on the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin being a robust blockchain, any upgrade to the network is hard because of the dispersed and decentralized network of its diverse network participants. 

Taproot was unanimously accepted and supported by the miners. The time course it took was:

  • In 2016, the first time discussions about an upgrade began.  
  • In 2017, we witnessed SegWit (Segregated Witness) take its effect. It increased the block size on the Bitcoin blockchain. It also laid a foundation for the launch of the Lightning Network that allowed Bitcoin to carry out transactions a lot quicker and cheaper. 
  • In January 2018, the upgrade was officially proposed by Gregory Maxwell, a cryptographic system developer. 
  • In October 2020, three BIPs (Bitcoin Improvement Protocols) were used so that the Taproot codebase could be merged with Bitcoin core. Jonas Nich, A.J. Townes, Pieter Wuille, and Tim Ruffing were responsible for writing these three BIPs.
  • In March 2021, to achieve consensus for the upgrade activation, a ‘Speedy Trial’ method of consensus was agreed upon. In this trial, the miners are given a series of two-week blocks for signaling support towards the upgrade. 
  • In May 2021, the process started with the difficulty of getting 90% signal support from the processed blocks.   
  • Once the support was acquired, the activation of the upgrade was locked in for November. 
  • The time between the activation date and lock-in date, miners and node operators upgraded to Bitcoin core version 0.21.1, determining the blocks containing valid transactions.  
  • On 14th November 2021, the new upgrade containing the merge code was activated on block 709,632 on the network.   

Disclaimer: The article should not be considered as any financial advice. It is advisable to conduct thorough research before investing.

Photo by – geralt on Pixabay