Bitcoin Ecosystem Welcomes New Vitality: RGB Protocol and Its Ecosystem Development

The Bitcoin ecosystem has always been the focus of technological innovation. Each technological advancement injects new vitality into the Bitcoin ecosystem. Among them, the RGB protocol, as a remarkable technological innovation, has been dedicated to building a universal smart contract system based on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network since it was officially proposed in 2017. Recently, the RGB team released the V0.10 version client, which has attracted widespread attention.

Recently, Valestin, co-founder of Cosminmart, was interviewed to share the latest project developments and ecological growth of Cosminmart, as well as topics such as the current BTC ecological development, technological achievements, and future technology roadmap. Below are the main points from the interview.

Project Introduction

Valestin introduced: "Cosminmart is an ecosystem based on the RGB protocol, deployed on the Lightning Network, primarily focused on the issuance and trading of RGB20 (fungible token issuance protocol) Tokens. Our project includes the improvement of RGB infrastructure, the launch of Bifrost, Cosm Wallet, and the first AMM Dex on Bitcoin implemented based on smart contracts—Bitswap."

Cosm Wallet is built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network and will be the first to support RGB protocol assets, forming a closed loop for RGB token trading with Bitswap. It also supports the creation, purchase, and sale of RGB21 (Non-Fungible Token Issuance Protocol) NFTs. In the future, COSM Wallet will support management of other types of Bitcoin Lightning Network assets with near-zero fees and real-time transfers.

Bitswap will become the first AMM Dex implemented on Bitcoin based on smart contracts, akin to the milestone significance of Uniswap V1 for the development of Ethereum. It can create liquidity pools between RGB tokens and Bitcoin, injecting stronger liquidity into the Bitcoin ecosystem, making the issuance and trading of project tokens more convenient, and alleviating the pressure caused by liquidity issues.

Reasons for Choosing RGB

When asked why he is fully committed to the RGB project, Valestin stated: "Before the project was established, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of various scalability solutions for the Bitcoin ecosystem. The popularity of Ordinals proves that Bitcoin assets can gain wide market recognition, while also showing that the market lacks fresh narratives. For Bitcoin scalability solutions, the key is to break through the barriers of transaction efficiency, cost scalability, and smart contract support."

Valestin believes that RGB is almost a perfect Bitcoin scaling solution and entrepreneurial track. It is based on the Lightning Network for transactions, offering high TPS and low transaction fees. At the same time, RGB relies on Bitcoin, the most secure payment system, and does not require any modifications or forks to the mainnet to support a more powerful smart contract system, theoretically possessing unlimited scalability.

In addition, the support of well-known companies like Tether has also strengthened Valestin's confidence. He stated: "Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino is a staunch advocate of the RGB protocol. Tether and Bitfinex started investing in the development of the RGB ecosystem early on and directly participated in the development of the underlying code of the RGB protocol. Recently, Tether also announced that it will issue stablecoins based on the RGB protocol."

Challenges Faced by the Project

Although RGB shows long-term development prospects, it still faces some challenges in the early stages of the ecosystem. In this regard, Valestin admitted: "RGB has been developing for many years, but the community is still small, enthusiasm is low, infrastructure is lacking, and it has not received attention from the mainstream market and venture capital institutions."

However, Valestin does not see this as a bad thing. He pointed out: "The biggest problem with RGB right now is the shortage of developers. The core team of RGB and the developers from several teams deeply involved in the RGB ecosystem are extremely top-notch, but due to a lack of manpower, many aspects are only working but implemented quite generally in engineering. This is also something our team needs to actively improve."

Cooperation with RGB Official

Regarding the cooperation with RGB officials, Valestin stated that both parties have reached a consensus. He explained: "The RGB Association is a non-profit organization established in Switzerland. They have completed the underlying development of the RGB protocol, do not accept investments from venture capital firms, and do not engage in commercial operations, only accepting donations. This is related to their philosophy, as they want to ensure the purity of the technology."

Valestin believes that this open and pure attitude helps RGB technology to be more widely applied without going against its original intentions and concepts.

Competitive Landscape and Ecological Development

When talking about the competitive landscape of the RGB ecosystem, Valestin stated: "The competitive landscape in the RGB ecosystem is very open and friendly. Currently, there are not many teams with a certain level of recognition and mature products. In the early stages of the current RGB and Lightning Network ecosystems, various startup teams will actively participate in the competition for wallets."

The advantage of Cosminmart lies in its rich experience in wallet development and the creation of a powerful RGB asset communication storage standard protocol. In addition, they will also improve the underlying infrastructure of the RGB protocol, implementing the only truly smart contract-based AMM Dex on Bitcoin.

Future Outlook

Regarding the future development of Cosminmart and the RGB ecosystem, Valestin stated: "We will focus on the trading infrastructure of the RGB20 Token, not just COSM Wallet and Bitswap, but also actively promoting cooperation with major exchanges to list RGB tokens. We will also provide support in terms of technology, resources, and funding to other early-stage entrepreneurial teams."

Valestin emphasized that Cosminmart's roadmap is very long-term. After the Token trading is perfected and implemented, they will invest in the DeFi sector of RGB, such as the establishment of lending protocol standards, and will also vigorously promote the development of Lightning Network application Lapp.

Finally, Valestin expressed his expectations for the future of the Bitcoin ecosystem: "I hope Cosminmart can make a small contribution to the narrative of achieving large-scale applications on Bitcoin, allowing the entire industry to quickly move away from the early stage of rampant growth and to realize more valuable applications based on blockchain technology. Blockchain started with Bitcoin and may also end with Bitcoin."

With the popularity of the Ordinals protocol and new opportunities presented by the Lightning Network, Bitcoin layer two solutions like RGB are regaining attention from the community. The combination of these different technologies and new ideas may give rise to new possibilities, further advancing the Bitcoin ecosystem and expanding its functionalities and applications. Let us continue to pay attention to the innovations and developments in this field.