On May 15, 2023, the Bitcoin Cash network achieved another annual milestone by seamlessly integrating four cutting-edge features into its consensus ruleset. At precisely 1:24 p.m. UTC on Monday, the eagerly anticipated upgrade went live, marking a significant leap forward for the peer-to-peer electronic cash platform. Bitcoin Cash fans believe the transformative changes are set to revolutionize the blockchain’s ecosystem.
Bitcoin Cash Network Takes a Leap Forward With 4 New Ruleset Changes
At Bitcoin Cash block height 792,772, the network successfully upgraded the blockchain. The upgrade is more developer focused and average BCH users do not need to do anything. Only miners and full node operators need to upgrade their BCH software to be compatible with the ruleset changes. Over time, specific bitcoin cash (BCH) compatible wallets can upgrade as well and incorporate some of the new improvements like Cashtokens.
Today’s upgrade features four new elements which include: Cashtokens, Allow Transactions to be smaller in size, P2SH32, and Restrict Transaction Versions. The Allow Transactions ruleset changes “prevents a hash griding attack, where SPV wallets can confuse a 64-byte transaction for a merkle node,” according to a summary published by Coin Dance.
The “Pay-to-Script-Hash-32” (P2SH32) alteration serves as a long-term remedy against 80-bit P2SH collision attacks. The modification introduces an advanced address format exclusively designed for smart contracts, boasting enhanced cryptographic security measures.
With the introduction of the “Restrict Transaction Versions” modification, Coin Dance explains that transactions are now strictly limited to version numbers of either 1 or 2. Any blocks containing transactions that defy this rule will be swiftly invalidated.
The Cashtokens upgrade, eagerly awaited by the BCH community, promises a wealth of transformative features, making it a slightly more intricate enhancement. This highly anticipated upgrade is poised to usher in a multitude of advancements that will significantly elevate the capabilities of the network.
Bitcoin.com News spoke with software developer Jason Dreyzehner about Cashtokens on May 2, 2023, and he detailed the potential game-changing impact of Cashtokens CHIP for Bitcoin Cash. According to Dreyzehner, Cashtokens will offer censorship-resistant, low-fee digital assets that can represent physical assets and function as currencies, stablecoins, securities, and more.
Cashtokens offer a multitude of enticing benefits, such as empowering individuals to issue tokens representing a wide range of items. In addition, they bring smart contract functionality that rivals Ethereum but with an efficiency advantage of over 1,000 times in transactions and block validation.
The introduction of Cashtokens also paves the way for the development of low-fee, censorship-resistant prediction markets, while contract-issued commitments and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) open up exciting possibilities for decentralized applications (dapps). Amid the upgrade, bitcoin cash (BCH) is up 4% higher against the U.S. dollar on Monday morning.
