Updates to improve privacy and scalability of the Bitcoin network — BIPs 340, 341 and 342 — have been merged into the Bitcoin Core code. They include Schnorr signatures, Taproot technology, and Tapscript.
Merged PR from Pieter Wuille: Implement BIP 340-342 validation (Schnorr/taproot/tapscript) https://t.co/qAHYmWrv4Q
— Bitcoin Merges (@BitcoinMerges) October 15, 2020
A request to enable the updates was submitted by Pieter Wuille earlier this year. The code for just one Taproot proposal was studied by more than 150 developers.
Schnorr/Taproot, as with the Segregated Witness soft fork, will be among the most significant updates in Bitcoin’s history. Besides boosting scalability and privacy, they are also aimed at an overall improvement in network functionality and coin fungibility.
Schnorr signatures are a scheme of digital signatures that can improve the privacy and scalability of the Bitcoin network. They will replace the current multi-signature mechanism.
Taproot expands the functionality of signatures by introducing a new version of a transaction output and a new way to specify spending conditions, which can be particularly useful for large players such as exchanges. Under certain conditions Taproot also provides an option to recover lost coins.
The timeline for the soft fork’s deployment will be announced later. Depending on the activation mechanism, it may take some time — perhaps even a year — before the upgrade takes effect.
Earlier, ForkLog published a piece on the features of the forthcoming soft fork.
ForkLog published a translation of Aaron van Wirdum’s article on how Taproot works, explaining why this solution will make Bitcoin stronger.
What is Taproot?
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