Advanced Topics
This section covers advanced, experimental, and specialized Bitcoin topics that extend beyond the core protocol and standard development practices.
What's in This Section
Layer 2 & Scaling Solutions
- Sidechains & Layer 2 - Alternative scaling approaches including Liquid Network and Rootstock
- Statechains - Federated sidechains for state transfer
- Zero-Conf Channels - Experimental Lightning channels usable before confirmation
- Trampoline Routing - Advanced Lightning routing for mobile clients
Smart Contracts & Advanced Protocols
- Atomic Swaps - Trustless cross-chain and cross-asset exchanges
- Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) - Oracle-based smart contracts for Bitcoin
Privacy & Optimization
- Bloom Filters - Privacy-preserving SPV client technology
Data & Tokens on Bitcoin
- Ordinals & Inscriptions - Attaching data to satoshis; BRC-20, Runes, and blockspace impact
Governance & Evolution
- Governance & Evolution - How Bitcoin evolves through rough consensus and the BIP process
- Covenants - Proposed opcodes (OP_CTV, SIGHASH_ANYPREVOUT) that would constrain how outputs can be spent
Prerequisites
Before diving into advanced topics, ensure you understand:
Experimental Features
Warning: Some topics in this section describe experimental or early-stage features:
- Zero-Conf Channels: Requires trust assumptions
- Trampoline Routing: Limited implementation support
- DLCs: Emerging technology, active development
- Statechains: Research stage, limited deployment
Always verify current implementation status and security considerations before using experimental features in production.
Related Sections
- Bitcoin Protocol - Core protocol documentation
- Lightning Network - Standard Lightning features
- Wallets - Privacy techniques and smart contracts
- Setup & Infrastructure - Setup and infrastructure for Bitcoin development
- Bitcoin Development - Practical development tasks