Fractal Vote Explained
Last updated
Last updated
Fractal Vote is a feature that demonstrates yet another advanced capability achieved through Bitcoin scripts. As Fractal Bitcoin continues to evolve, more use cases will emerge, unlocking a broader range of possibilities.
This post aims to break down its features for non-technical users, showcasing what makes Fractal Voting unique.
Flexible Lock/Unlock with Arbitrary Time Length
Fully On-Chain Contract-Based Custody
Secure Isolation of Individual User Stakes
Traditional Bitcoin timelock enables assets to be locked until a specific block height or timestamp, restricting access until the designated time has passed.
Fractal Voting enhances this by locking assets in independent Taproot script addresses. Users have the flexibility to unlock their assets at any chosen time. This unlock behavior can also incorporate additional controls, such as introducing a cooling period or requiring special signatures for unlocking.
This flexibility ensures that users are not constrained by time-based restrictions while still maintaining security.
Before the implementation of Fractal Voting, it wasn’t possible to entrust assets to a specific contract using Bitcoin scripts. By enabling contract-based asset custody, Fractal Voting offers significant benefits:
The ownership of funds is securely transferred between the user and the contract throughout the custody period.
There is no reliance on third parties, eliminating the need for trust in intermediaries.
This approach fundamentally aligns with Bitcoin’s ethos of decentralization and trustless operations.
In Fractal Voting, each user’s assets are locked into separate UTXOs, ensuring physical isolation at the blockchain level. If one user’s locked assets encounter risks, this isolation prevents any impact on others.
This feature contrasts sharply with Ethereum’s contract-based models, where all user funds are pooled into a single contract. In Ethereum:
A contract vulnerability can jeopardize all user assets.
Transactions with the contract occur sequentially, meaning execution order can influence outcomes, creating performance bottlenecks.
By leveraging UTXO-based isolation, Fractal Voting eliminates these risks. Moreover, the UTXO model naturally lends itself to parallel processing, making it easier to improve system performance in the long run.
More details:
How Fractal Vote Works: A Deep Dive https://www.fractalbitcoin.io/learn/fractal-vote-how
Technical Features of Fractal Voting: https://lorenzonical.net/p/2024-11-technical-features-of-fractal-voting/