Sidechains and Drivechains

12 min readinteractive

A sidechain is like an embassy — Bitcoin territory operating under slightly different rules, with a bridge back to the mainland. It lets you experiment with new features without risking the main chain.

Explore Bitcoin's sidechain ecosystem and how it extends Bitcoin's capabilities.

Liquid Network:

  • •Federated Sidechain: Managed by federation
  • •Confidential Transactions: Hidden amounts
  • •Asset Issuance: Create tokens
  • •Fast Blocks: 1-minute blocks
  • •Use Cases: Trading, securities

RSK (Rootstock):

  • •EVM-compatible smart contracts
  • •Merge-mined with Bitcoin
  • •DeFi on Bitcoin
Key Takeaway

Sidechains expand what Bitcoin can do without changing Bitcoin itself. Liquid enables confidential transactions and fast settlement. RSK enables Ethereum-style smart contracts. The base layer stays pure.

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