DFINITY-based Internet Computer unveils Bitcoin and Ethereum integration plans

• Internet Computer will integrate Bitcoin via the 'Chromium Satoshi Release' before the end of Q1 this year
• The Ethereum integration would not come until Q3 when the 'Vanadium Vitalik Release' is run

DFINITY Foundation, a non-profit organisation that supports the public blockchain Internet Computer, has released its roadmap for 2022.

The release detailed that Internet Computer plans to develop Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains integrations. This would effectively cut out the current need for a bridge, eliminating a potential loophole for ill-intentioned actors.

"The ICP [and] BTC integration will prompt a new wave of DeFi applications built to leverage the world's largest cryptocurrency," a tweet from the DFINITY Foundation read.

Unlocking the power of the Bitcoin network

The planned integration would start as part of the 'Chromium Satoshi Release,' an upgrade slated for Q1 this year. The upgrade would integrate Internet Computer and the Bitcoin network to enable the former to run as a node on the latter's blockchain.

"It deals with connecting from IC nodes to nodes of the Bitcoin network, obtaining Bitcoin blocks, providing blocks through IC consensus, processing them, serving UTXO [unspent transaction output] sets to canister smart contracts, and allowing canisters to submit BTC transactions to the Bitcoin network," says Dieter Sommer, a senior technical program manager working the project.

In addition, when Bitcoin capability is added to the Internet Computer, smart contracts would be enabled to send, receive, and hold Bitcoin without the necessity of a private key.

Sommer also noted that Bitcoin has some shortcomings that limit its use cases, but once Bitcoin is on Internet Computer, it could define its DeFi ecosystem.

"Clearly, whenever we transfer bitcoin on the Bitcoin network, the limitations of the Bitcoin blockchain apply: relatively high transaction costs, a 10-minute average time between blocks, only few transactions per second, and transaction finality times of an hour. These limitations apply for the transfer of bitcoin into the Internet Computer ecosystem (to a smart contract) and the transfer back out," he explained.

Integration with Ethereum will follow

Thereafter, in Q3 this year, Internet Computer would consolidate with Ethereum via the 'Vanadium Vitalik Release.' Though DFINITY has been tight-lipped on information around the integration, Michael Less, the VP (Communications), revealed to Cointelegraph that transactions in the Internet Computer would be logged to a ledger, unlike in the use of a bridge.

This project would enable both parties involved to leverage benefits from the other. By interacting directly with Internet Computer, Bitcoin would now be opened to the severality of applications in the field of DeFi. DeFi applications on Internet Computer would benefit from Bitcoin's exposure to mainstream audiences.

Critics have often deprecated Bitcoin for its limitations in scalability and the ability to work with smart contract applications. Should the implementation be a success, it would define a massive step for Bitcoin.