Rootstock releases smart contract test network Turmeric, a wave of new applications is on the way

Rootstock (RSK) smart contract test network Turmeric has been officially released. RSK founder Diego Gutierrez and his team members announced the news at the recent Latin American Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference (laBITconf).

Smart contracts strengthen Bitcoin development

RSK is based on the Bitcoin network and is a pioneer in open-source, multi-functional smart contract platforms. The RSK team spoke at the conference with the theme of “Welcome to the Value Network” and officially launched Turmeric.

Gutierrez said:

We hope that (RSK) will be compatible with other smart contract platforms.

Turmeric is just the beginning of the RSK testnet. At this stage, our partners can use it to test their own decentralized applications and tools. The testnet will be open to the public soon.

Sergio Lerner, founder of RSK Labs and Bitcoin security consultant, said that several international companies and Internet providers have begun testing their solutions in the Turmeric ecosystem, including Jaxx, Wings, etc.

According to Lerner, Turmeric’s core features are :

1. Rootstockj platform: a partial rewrite of Ethereumj, with a more stable code base and wider test coverage

2. Deterministic Bitcoinj wallet code and consensus tools

3. RSK Virtual Machine (RVM) operates 6 times faster than other virtual machines

4. RSK smart contract execution costs 15% less than ETH

5. RSK testnet gas is within 15tps

Lerner said that at the time of Turmeric’s release, 30% of miners were already testing RSK合并挖矿（merge-mining） , and 50% of miners expressed support for the project and would join the system soon.

The RSK team is very focused on innovation. Gutierrez said:

The RSK system is not built from scratch, we use Bitcoin technology and keep an eye on innovation.

It is worth noting that miners can mine on both the RSK and Bitcoin blockchains at the same time. In this way, not only can the RSK blockchain gain high security, but miners can also increase their income through merged mining.

RSK Federation

To ensure a secure smart contract environment, RSK created a consortium whose members are all major Bitcoin exchanges and wallets.

It is reported that RSK Alliance members will deploy a "hybrid" security architecture or protocol for the project. In addition, the alliance is also responsible for providing management and other related services.

Since August this year, the companies that have joined the RSK Alliance include: BitFlyer, Bitgo, Bitpay, Bitstamp, Blockchain, Bitfinex, BTCC, BitKan, Jaxx, Huobi, OKCoin, etc.

Lerner explained that the aforementioned companies will successively test the deployment and integration process of the RSK network.

RSK’s New Solution

After the official release of Turmeric, RSK’s production network Ginger was also put on the agenda. This network includes a bounty program, has more than 300 full nodes, and is scheduled to be released in April next year.

Gutierrez also said that they will soon establish a global open source RSK University.

In addition, RSK also revealed several solutions that are in the experimental stage :

1. A new virtual machine based on the Java smart contract language, using a mature standardized Java tool chain

2. Use confidential transactions to achieve transaction privacy

3. RSK Lightning Network provides low-cost off-chain transfers

4. User-defined signature mechanism

5. Full node rewards based on PoUBS

At the same time, the RSK ecosystem has also gained support from Jaxx, a multi-currency, multi-platform wallet. Jaxx CEO Anthony Di Iorio also announced the integration of RSK tokens “Smart Bitcoin” and its software products at the conference.

Gutierrez also mentioned that several top financial institutions in Latin America have contacted them, hoping to achieve inclusive finance through smart contracts.

The launch of Turmeric brings RSK one step closer to its goal of becoming a “more secure, more scalable, more mature, and less expensive decentralized ecosystem,” as Lerner put it in his speech.