Verify RISC-V binary execution in Bitcoin script.
Bitcoin Elftrace is a proof of concept tool used to trace the execution of
RISCV-32 binaries (ELFs), and and generate Bitcoin script that can be used to
verify this execution on-chain.
See the compilation doc for an example of how to trace a RISC-V binary.
Using this you can use your favourite language to write arbitrary programs that can be verified on Bitcoin. Paired with the "optimistic execution" smart contracting paradigm, this opens up the possibility for Bitcoin smart contracts to be arbitrary complex while still keeping the on-chain footprint low.
The idea is to write your UTXO smart contracts in a way that gives any spender the incentive to act honestly. If someone tries to spend the UTXO with an improper execution of the contract, they can be punished efficiently using a fraud proof.
elftrace only (currently) generates the scripts needed to validate the
program execution. You will need to wrap the program in a "MATT challenge"
style script in order to set up a proper smart contract. See
mattlab for
an example.
This is very much in a POC stage. The compiler currently expects the compiled program to take a single integer as input, and outputs a single integer. There is also a few RISCV opcodes not yet implemented, I just wanted to build a few more non-toy programs to test it on before making that effort.
In order to use this on mainnet we would need to deploy a covenant opcode.
elftrace is based on the OP_CHECKCONTRACTVERIFY opcode proposed by
MATT.
Come join us in getting covenants deployed on Bitcoin! 🤠
Having a covenant deployed on bitcoin would enable us to use this to create trustless two-way pegs, rollups, ZK verifiers... in general much more flexible ways of handing custody of coins to an on-chain computer program.