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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
1. Phased Launch of Babylon Bitcoin StakingBabylon Bitcoin staking protocol connects bitcoin holders with the demand for network security from Proof-of-Stake systems like PoS chains, L2s, Data Availability layers, oracles, and others. It does so without a trusted intermediary.The protocol will be launched in three phases.1.1 Phase-1: Bitcoin LockingDuring this phase, bitcoin holders initiate the staking process by submitting Bitcoin staking transactions to the Bitcoin blockchain.Each transaction locks the designated bitcoins within a secure, self-custodial Bitcoin staking script. Stakers also specify key parameters, including the public key of the finality provider they’ve chosen to delegate their PoS voting power to. This prepares the locked bitcoins to actively participate in PoS consensus validation in the subsequent phases.Of note, if the staker also holds the associated finality provider’s private key, this delegation is considered a self-delegation. In either case, only the voting power is delegated. The staked bitcoins are not transferred to the finality provider.1.2 Phase-2: Bitcoin Staking ActivationIn this phase, a Babylon PoS chain will be launched to receive crypto-economic security from the bitcoins locked in Phase-1.Upon launch, the finality providers with adequate delegations from Phase-1 will participate in Babylon PoS chain’s consensus by determining the finality of its blocks. The Babylon PoS chain will also enable the Bitcoin timestamping protocol for the cross-chain time synchronization needed for the security of Bitcoin staking.1.3 Phase-3: Bitcoin Multi-Staking ActivationIn this phase, the Babylon Bitcoin staking protocol will evolve into a marketplace for shared security, enabling any PoS systems to utilize Bitcoin staking security.Bitcoin holders gain the ability to natively stake the same bitcoins across multiple PoS systems simultaneously, allowing them to earn multiple staking rewards. The Babylon PoS chain will act as the control plane that facilitates Bitcoin staking for all PoS systems.2. Phase-1 Details2.1 Maximum Staking Time and On-Demand UnbondingDuring Phase-1, every stake is set with a maximum staking time (i.e., the time-lock in the Bitcoin staking script) of 64,000 Bitcoin blocks , which is approximately 15 months. This means that each stake will automatically expire and become available for withdrawal after this time period.However, stakers can unbond their stake on-demand anytime before its expiration. There will be an on-chain unbonding period of 1008 Bitcoin blocks (roughly 7 days and defined in the unbonding Bitcoin script), after which the stake will expire and become available for withdrawal.2.2 Transactions InvolvedAll transactions in Phase-1 are Bitcoin transactions, and include:Staking: To stake, Bitcoin stakers generate Bitcoin staking transactions and submit them to the Bitcoin blockchain.Unbonding and early withdrawal: To unbond and withdraw a stake before its expiration, a staker will generate an unbonding transaction followed by a withdrawal transaction.Automatic expiration and withdrawal: A stake will automatically expire after 64,000 Bitcoin blocks unless it was unbonded
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