Bitcoin SV Technical Standards Committee sets out roadmap for 2021-23

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The Bitcoin SV Technical Standards Committee was set up to shape the technical standards that will govern bitcoin’s development in the years to come. Now, the committee has set out the structure of its roadmap for 2021-23, clarifying the direction of travel for Bitcoin SV (BSV).

Comprising a group of leading experts from the world of blockchain chaired by nChain CTO Steve Shadders, the committee has taken the crucial first steps towards setting out the technical roadmap that will define the next three years ahead.

The aim of the roadmap is to present a clear technical direction which the whole BSV ecosystem can rely on, in line with the mission of the Technical Standards Committee to improve utility through standardization.

According to Bitcoin Association, the roadmap was designed to provide an outline of the standardization outlook for Bitcoin SV over the coming years: “The roadmap is designed to summarize the current standardization landscape for the Bitcoin SV ecosystem. It is intended to help people navigate emerging standards and includes several proposed areas for future development based on feedback received from stakeholders. It may also include published standards and various ‘live’ standardization projects that are due to be published within the timeframe.”

The committee is requesting participation from developers active in Bitcoin SV, including those who may already be working on solutions for priority standardization areas.

“If you or your organization is interested in helping to define the areas of focus and standardization goals for the roadmap, please complete the participation form. You will be asked to describe the area you see as a priority and the standardization goals that will affect your area of work within the next two-year period. We would also like to know if you have started work on a solution on the standardization area you have listed.”

Rather than a centralized, prescriptive body, the Technical Standards Committee aims to facilitate industry in shaping the direction of Bitcoin SV. By focusing on the practical needs of the bitcoin community, the committee is aimed at drawing up technical standards across key areas that serve developers and businesses in the first instance.

Developers and other organizations are invited to contribute to the Technical Standards roadmap, with participation actively encouraged amongst those already building on BSV. According to the Technical Standards Committee, this allows the Bitcoin SV community the chance to influence the priorities and specification of standards across key areas for their business, and for the benefit of the community as a whole.

The roadmap is set across five different areas: Wallets, Client Services, Tokenization, Regulation and Compliance and Mining. As per the roadmap grid, there are specific streams under each headline area already in development, as well as standards in progress.

SPV Client Tools for Wallets aims to standardize direct payment exchange and requests, both between different wallets, and wallet to merchant. Meanwhile, SPV Client Services will deliver standards for server side services and APIs, cover peer-to-peer transactions, fraud prevention measures and other tools. For Client Services, paymail standards are already under development.

Standards for tokenization aim at token interoperability for representation and exchange, as well as for protocol extensions for future use, and the wrapping of non-standard tokens for greater interoperability. For Regulation and Compliance, the primary stream in the roadmap is FATF Compliance, standardizing adherence to the relevant Financial Action Task Force recommendations.

Finally, under the Mining area, the committee is to focus on Mining Interoperability, ensuring standard APIs for interacting across different miners and their systems.

The roadmap is aimed at businesses, developers and agencies interested in contributing to the development of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem and infrastructure. This includes government agencies and regulators, as well as private sector interests.

With roadmap development already well under way, the Bitcoin SV community can expect to benefit from increasing standardization across the board.

Read the Bitcoin SV Technical Standards Committee Roadmap 2021-2023.

See also: Bitcoin SV Technical Standards Committee introduction webinar