The Rootstock (RSK) side chain will operate as its own platform but allow interoperability between both blockchains. Developers of RSK believe this keeps investments safer by not “withering” away like the hundreds of Altcoins before it. Being a side chain, the project says it will not be creating a typical alternative token but rather create a two-way peg between Rootstock’s native currency RTC and Bitcoin.
rootstockTo use the RSK system users simply transfer their bitcoins to the Rootstock side chain. Then the system’s features are available for use with RTC but can also be reverted to BTC at any time. In order to pull this off in a more secure manner, the team is using what they call a “federation.” This is a group of “leading Bitcoin companies,” that will enable the exchange between the blockchain and the RSK side chain. Federation members will earn fees from each transfer, and the use of multi-signature technology will also be implemented to protect users. The Medium post reads this will add a “threshold” of extra security to operations back and forth between chains.
http://bitcoinist.net/this-turing-complete-platform-aims-to-work-with-bitcoin/
