Bitcoin is entering a new era.

Edan Yago's (Co-founder of BitcoinOS) keynote at BTC Scaling Day on why we’re about to see Bitcoin at the center of innovation again:

🔹 Bitcoin's early days: In the early days of Bitcoin (2011-2013), the Bitcoin community was brimming with ideas that are now common in the broader crypto space. These ideas included zero-knowledge proofs, privacy enhancements, decentralized exchanges, proof-of-stake, and even NFTs.

But projects faced significant technical difficulties due to the limitations of the Bitcoin protocol at that time.
Many moved to other chains...but now they’re coming back.

🔹 Breaking old limits: Thanks to ZK proofs, Bitcoin can now execute smart contracts and move BTC into new layers without requiring users to trust third parties or rely on multi-signature solutions.

In other words, it provides a method to securely transfer BTC and verify smart contracts directly on Bitcoin’s base layer.

🔹 The Holy Grail of Bitcoin: The ability to verify ZK proofs on Bitcoin mainnet means that for the first time, Bitcoin can combine its security with advanced functionalities like roll-ups, sidechains, and programmable token protocols.

This development has reignited excitement in the Bitcoin space, as it suggests that developers no longer need to choose between security and functionality.