Smart Contract in Bitcoin

[runtocrypto]

Eventually it will, it might be an ETH killer.

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[matthewcampbell]

Eventually it will, it might be an ETH killer.

I mean we are still waiting on 2x. You think smart contracts will come 5 years from now? What other features will other blockchains have by then?

[dzelenyanskiy]

Smart contracts will help us exchange money, property, shares, or anything of value in a transparent, conflict-free way while avoiding the services of a middleman 

[artras]

For a smart stable contract, development community needs a very powerful ecosystem. Ethereum is building it for last years and it's not complete yet.

[Smolko]

Eventually it will, it might be an ETH killer.

I mean we are still waiting on 2x. You think smart contracts will come 5 years from now? What other features will other blockchains have by then?

I don't understand how is it possible to implement smart contracts into the Bitcoin Blockchain?

[HeRetiK]

what classifies a smart contract - looks like there is just a lot of buzz words, but no clear explanation.
What is a typical smart contract use case?
Is pay 2-of-3 already a smart contract? Or must it have an escrow?
Just a touring complete language?
(btw: ever tried to get oracle data in Ethereum smart contracts?)

Bitcoin has smart contract capabilities. E.g., when using CSV and CLTV, you have smart contracts. Some OP_IFs around it, and there you go. Even with P2SH. BIP65 and BIP68 show use cases.
So what do you have in mind, when talking about smart contracts? Are there any use cases examples for it?

I guess part of the problem is that everyone expects smart contracts to be these hyper-complex decentralized applications while in reality most decentralized applications either a) don't require a turing complete scripting language or b) don't require a blockchain.

The type of smart contracts that will see actual long-term usage will be simple ones like you described. Alas op_codes are hard and it's easier to sell tokens for the decentralized Uber of X.

[Taras]

I think a lot of the people posting here don't know that bitcoin already has contracts. Multisig, timelocked coins, payment channels, trustless escrow etc all exist right now as smart contracts with their code on the bitcoin blockchain. Maybe this thread is instead thinking that we should make bitcoin smart contracts more like ethereum smart contracts.

Would that be a good idea? What are some cool things that ethereum smart contracts can do that we can't already do on bitcoin?

What about colored coins? We've been issuing tokens that way since I think before ethereum even existed. Not that I don't like what ether is doing (I do have a little) but I don't think that I see the appeal that everyone else seems to see.

[Fozeker]

Where can i find something like whitepaper for smart contracts on bitcoin? Do bitcoin realy need smart contracts? With confirmation of 10 minutes and litle size of blocks it will be slow and it will rise fees if i understand it right.  Also it is many work to do for developers to implement contracts, and at the same time they have many issues to figure out. Maybe it is better for bitcoin to stay as currency.

[SirVeillance]

I don't think this is a route Bitcoin will take. There are many good examples of Coins for Smart Contract technology and Bitcoin sees itself as a pure Currency. Don't think this will happen.

[3piecechickendinner]

Would it be possible to implement another hard fork in the bitcoin blockchain and introduce the smart contract logic instead of doing it on a side chain like RSK?

[matthewcampbell]

Would it be possible to implement another hard fork in the bitcoin blockchain and introduce the smart contract logic instead of doing it on a side chain like RSK?

Yeah its possible to do anything with a hard fork. You could hard fork and add any feature. The problem is getting enough of the network onboard to make the network secure. So it has to be cost effective with hashing power. Cause a fork of bitcoin not only needs to compete with bitcoin but existing solutions like Ethereum.

[Ucy]

Implementing smart contract to bitcoin's feature is a not a priority to devs, the most concern of today's bitcoin is the block size and the the transaction capacity and transaction fees. If the two aforementioned are not able to solve the bitcoin's problem then the worldwide adaptability to masses for merchants and retails are only just a dream. Then we still can not call bitcoin  a currency but it is still an asset or commodity for trading but not as a future medium of exchange.

I am elated by the way you have highlighted the most important concern of bitcoin and bitcoin users which needs to be rectified at the earliest as it is inevitable to make bitcoin used by merchants and eCommerce without increasing the block size and there is a sense of fear that the transaction free might go up in future and might become like normal money exchange service so developers needs to focus on this as this is the need of the hour.

That is a problem that has not been final to date, developers have to solve that problem without making more hardfork anymore. Bitcoin also requires the development of smart contracts or in the future all altcoin will be taken by ethereum. We know that the current eth is very ready to be paired with fiat, if bitcoin does not fix itself then one day the market volume will move significantly towards eth.

Bitcoin and Eth both have different roles to fill in the market. Bitcoin is like a store of value (e-gold) while Eth is like an actualy computer making decisions. I dont understand why some people want to turn Bitcoin into Eth, they can both exist.

I think Smart contract could be a  very important and necessary feature for Bitcoin. It is like a Mobile app doing some automated and very Basic  stuff like waking you up at 7am, answer phone calls when you're unavailable or sending emails/text messages at a specified time.
There are times I get seriously limited using Bitcoin and all I can think of is moving to Cryptocurrencies with smart contracts.

Question is how easy can Smart Contract be implemented  Bitcoin. If it were that easy I guess developers would have implemented it long ago?

[NeoTech42]

Smart contract is the reason why Ethereum is the main challenger to Bitcoin.

A Bitcoin ERC20 like + smart contract would kill Ethereum.

Howewer, Bitcoin is mainly used as a store value while Ethereum is a platform used for creating Dapp

[namct]

Smart contract is the reason why Ethereum is the main challenger to Bitcoin.

A Bitcoin ERC20 like + smart contract would kill Ethereum.

Howewer, Bitcoin is mainly used as a store value while Ethereum is a platform used for creating Dapp

If that happens, the ETH will no longer be valid
But it costs too much network resources and it will make the miners disagree

[furelise]

I think that extending bitcoin capabilities through hardcoded smart-contracts is one thing and would be great, but attaching even with a sidechain "turing complete" VM is a most horrible idea ever. Look at the Ethereum with 10x more security and scalability issues.

[Sketztrophonic]

If bitcoin introduces the smart contracts then I think the value of Etherium might dip. Etherium was solely built because bitcoin did not have smart contracts.

Yes, it's true. But whether bitcoin can make a smart contract? I don't think so. Ethereum this is a smart contract.. not Bitcoin

I think the value of ethereum will not dip. My point of view is that if bitcoin introduces the smart contracts those security and privacy will improve and it might change the fact that bitcoin will go higher to its prize from now. I think it will not get ethereum to go dip maybe ethereum will go high a little bit too.

[mrcryptosocial]

We will see another coin split if this ever happens.Though i believe ETHS smart contract is one of its kind and that is solving its purpose already.
And i donot think bitcoin also need smart contact feather at all.

[summer209]

According to this: https://www.coindesk.com/smart-contracts-bitcoin-lightnings-tadge-dryja-working/ article, smart contract like feature might happen on bitcoin, wouldn't that be great? what is your view on that?

what would be the benefit for bitcoint to impliment smart-contract ?

The idea is that Bitcoin is "old tech". by adding smart contracts it now competes with "new tech" Ethereum.

I am curious about the "old tech" and "new tech", is it possible that Ethereum replace bitcoin in the future?

[bob123]

what classifies a smart contract - looks like there is just a lot of buzz words, but no clear explanation.

Actually this is pretty clear defined: "A smart contract is a computer protocol intended to facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_contract
Smart contracts in combination with crypto currencies makes it a system where you dont have to trust a person. A contract will be enforced. Decentralized.

What is a typical smart contract use case?

Anything could be those use cases. For example some escrow service or a whole signature campaign which pays out per posts could be created.
Anything you can program can be coded into a smart contract.

[pebwindkraft]

...
Anything could be those use cases. For example some escrow service or a whole signature campaign which pays out per posts could be created.
Anything you can program can be coded into a smart contract.

yup, here we go! thx so much, fully agree 
This is why I raised this question. The trolls here seem to think, that smart contracts = turing complete machine, is fancy coding language (which removes me from the burden of using my brain), is ETHEREUM transported into Bitcoin, cause flippening will happen (haha, what a laugh!!!), and much more stupid reasons. Those noobs seem to not even know what they are talking about...

I should stop ranting here, and show how to provide s.th. to the community (still hoping that some people come out of there noob zone and start to learn):
 
BITCOIN HAS ALREADY SMART CONTRACTS!
Examples and use cases:

e.g. the link you mentioned (https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0112.mediawiki):

Code:

    IF
        2 <Alice's pubkey> <Bob's pubkey> <Escrow's pubkey> 3 CHECKMULTISIG
    ELSE
        "30d" CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY DROP
        <Alice's pubkey> CHECKSIG
    ENDIF

or something like this:

Code:

if
  <merchant pubkey> checksigverify
 else
  <timestamp> checklocktimeverify drop
 endif
 <customer pubkey> checksig

or more precise:
n-of-m multisig is the easiest form of a contract.
escrow service is the next layer (as in examples above).
And then we can create very specific constructs like:
CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY: lock some Satoshis until a specific number of block have passed, before I can use them, and if I really, really need the coins before, have a 2-3 multisig to release them immedeatly
CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY: lock some Satoshis until a specific number of block appears (aka my son is 18 years old...), but use a 2-3 multisig to release the funds in case funds are required earlier
It goes even up to the point where you can create tx spends, where the hash of a condition must be equal to a previously defined value.
I see some limitations when trying to use Oracles (aka data from "outsides"), maybe data from exchanges, or from real live (in case of death). 

Some more example in Andreas' book "Mastering Bitcoin" (second edition) in the chapter "Timelocks".
or here in the forum
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1300723.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1558207.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1952248.0
or here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/4kit49/is_it_safe_to_use_cltv_for_recurring_payments/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/4p4klg/bitcoin_core_project_the_csv_soft_fork_has/d4i01he/
and here:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Timelock
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contracts

And look at the way how exchanges store much of the funds into cold wallets automatically. These are also smart contracts.
Also the scripting language allows up to 10 kilobytes of code (!), to create smart contracts.
SO YES; BITCOIN HAS SMART CONTRACTS!

I haven't seen a single example by noobs, what a smart contract is, but a lot about there limitations ("scripting is dumb, cause usage of brain to learn scripting language is too complicated for me"). All are complaining that things need to get improved, without saying, what does not work in bitcoin. This is reddit niveau. Reddit it is the right forum to complain, without providing any efforts to improve bitcoin. Even better, there you can improve your reputation by posting much of this shit. Go there... ooops, I wanted to stop ranting 

I think I want to say, look at the examples, tell us what you want to do, what you think is missing, and how we can help to implement smart contracts.