The Great Covenants Debate | With Red and Janusz

If you’re following Ordinals, you’ve likely heard the term “OP_CAT,” a proposed Bitcoin opcode popularized by the Taproot Wizards In this episode, I brought on Janusz and Red from Bitcoin Layers to break down what OPCAT is, how it works, and what it makes possible for Bitcoin—hint hint: you’re gonna learn all about ‘covenants’ and their role in trustless bridging in this episode.Of course, this interview wouldn’t be complete without a breakdown of other covenant-enabling opcodes on the table—especially OP_CTV and OP_TXHASH.Fair warning: this episode goes deep into what an OP_CAT (or covenants) future for Bitcoin might look like… as well as the potential dark side of “doing nothing.”In this episode, we discuss:-The difference between CTV, TXHASH, and CAT-Why more expressivity isn’t always better-The Risks and Rewards of upgrading (+ the great script restoration debate)-Is the window for making changes to Bitcoin closing?-Why ossification won’t matter in a post-OPCAT worldThis episode is powered by Best In Slot—the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing.TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro01:20 Janus and Red’s backgrounds03:30 What Ordinals revealed about degens and Bitcoin05:48 What the fuck is a covenant?06:38 Specific proposals that enable covenants: CTV, TXHash, OP_CAT07:55 Using covenants for bridging09:20 Are there limits to CTV?11:15 What is TXHash?13:20 What about OP_CAT?15:35 OP_CAT enables SNARKs17:30 Red’s analogy comparing the 3 proposals20:00 How many Opcodes should we introduce?21:15 Bitcoin’s Final Upgrade? Running out of time24:00 The consequences of not changing Bitcoin26:50 Bitcoin rollups will benefit Bitcoin security31:57 Do we need to break BTC’s 21m supply cap?35:00 Softforks can help more than just rollups38:00 Every Bitcoin L2 is trusted right now42:55 What does Bitcoin “scaling” mean?44:00 Lightning can actually be trustless46:20 Do all L2s need an L1 transaction to onboard?52:10 Money making as a BitVM operator- https://x.com/januszg_ - https://x.com/redvelvetzip - https://x.com/bitcoinlayers LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:› YouTube: / @bitcoinrails › X/Twitter: https://x.com/isabelfoxenduke › Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uPrBxvD691TpTqjijudkO?si=571634b88d574911 CONNECT WITH ISABEL:› Email: [email protected] › LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabel-foxen-duke-87272423/ › X/Twitter: https://x.com/isabelfoxenduke #Bitcoin #Ordinals #BRC20 #Runes #BitVM #zkp