Religious historiography relates that the ten commandments, principles of conduct common to several religions and written on stone tablets, were kept in the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred wooden chest covered with gold. The Israelites who built it felt that this chest was a symbol of God, and that, through it, His presence guided them, during long exoduses, through the desert.
Modern fantasy archeology was encouraged by men like Heinrich Schliemann, who believed he discovered in Turkey, in 1870, the mythical city identified as Troy and described in Homer’s Iliad; in fiction, by heroes like Indiana Jones, who “discovers” the Ark in the 1930s, the authentic chest, containing the same tables brandished to heaven by Moses in the Exodus, inside an underground temple in Cairo, Egypt.
These two examples reveal the essential thing about fantasy archaeology: that human beings have an innate interest in relics, those artifacts that remain identical to themselves over the centuries. Today, This motivation for relics could be influencing the global perception of Bitcoin and its protocolwhich is relatively new, but so steeped in history that it seems old. Popular opinion grants it the qualities of an immobile, invariable and unalterable artifact, the same as a relic.
But Bitcoin It is not a relic. It is not immobile, invariable, unalterable. It is not frozen in time nor will it always be identical to itself.
In reality, Bitcoin is in perpetual movement internal to its protocol, or at least seething with energy around its core thanks to the multitude of developers working on it. The truth is that Bitcoin sees its technical foundations shaken daily. Holograms and representations of Bitcoin’s internal mechanisms are heard chirping in niches of the Internet, especially on social networks and forums, which host developer discussions who fight to immortalize their ideas in the future of the protocol through proposals concepts, argumentative demonstrations and, above all, lines of code.
It is true, however, that when one uses the Bitcoin network, it is difficult to find tangible and significant changes to the user experience. Apparently, it is still similar to years ago, discounting that before there were no ordinals nor a continuous and uniform drip of new protocols that seek, from the outside, interoperability with the first cryptocurrency network with other newer ecosystems, such as Cardano or Tron, as reported by NoticiasVE.
This appearance of immutability owes its effect to the fact that Bitcoin is a technology that grows by accumulations of details and small improvementsmost of which do not affect the essential aspects of the protocol, such as the supply of BTC, the network consensus algorithm or the fixed reward ratio to miners. At its core, and here popular opinion is partly right, Bitcoin does function as the Ark of the Covenant– Contains some non-negotiable rules in the form of relics within its protocol.
As issue #334 of an Optech newsletter on Bitcoin technology demonstrates, discussion and technical work around the cryptoasset was highly charged this year.
In total, There are more than 35 developments and proposals to improve and scale the cryptoactive protocol. This number appears modest if we do not consider the amount of work that these proposals have behind them. The number is less modest and more significant when we take into account that Optech lists only what, for compilers, were the most important developments of 2024.
Interestingly, some of the developments on the list are resurrections of Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIP) from bygone eras, put in the doctor’s room to implement improvements and adapt them to modern requirements. Other developments seek to prevent future events, such as a quantum emergency capable of breaking the SHA-256 algorithm.
Most are just proposals that seek to slightly improve privacy in Bitcoin or give it the ability to manage more advanced peer-to-peer contracts. Most of these proposals may never be implemented. At the Bitcoin development fair, many delicacies and foodstuffs, softened and hard, are placed on the table, but only select appetizers are eaten, prepared in the kitchen nights and nights in advance.
Bitcoin is, therefore, not the Ark of the Covenant, although it may seem like it. Bitcoin does contain, of course, an Ark of the Covenant within its protocol that ensures sufficient immutability in the midst of continuous improvements to ensure the quality of life of its users.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to its author and do not necessarily reflect those of NoticiasVE. The author’s opinion is for informational purposes and under no circumstances constitutes an investment recommendation or financial advice.