CTO Ledger supports the introduction of new OP codes, layer 2 to unlock the potential of Bitcoin

In a recent interview, Ledger's CTO Charles Guillemet shared his journey of changing his mindset, from initial skepticism to high appreciation of Bitcoin's potential. He predicts a future where Bitcoin serves not only as a simple digital currency but also as a powerful mechanism for timestamping and organizing events, as long as the scalability challenges are addressed. Guillemet's insights highlight the continuous development and scalability of blockchain technology.

Having been initially skeptical when first introduced to Bitcoin in 2011, Guillemet now recognizes the technical sophistication of the consensus mechanism and decentralized cryptography, but doubts its practical application.

"Back then, when my friend was tirelessly mining Bitcoin and talking about it every day... I told him that from a technical standpoint, it was pretty impressive, but what about its practical use case? There's absolutely no chance anyone will adopt Bitcoin in the future."

It wasn't until 2017, when Bitcoin began to receive more attention and wider acceptance, that Guillemet reconsidered his position. He began to explore the economic and "permissionless" aspects of Bitcoin, gaining a deeper understanding of its potential as a currency not controlled by any central authority. This discovery also expanded his perception of how traditional fiat systems operate, ultimately leading him to appreciate Bitcoin's proposed value of ownership rights and financial autonomy.

In addition to being a digital currency, when asked to consider the potential of Bitcoin to serve broader purposes, such as timestamping and sequencing events, Guillemet has acknowledged the concept of using Bitcoin's blockchain to verify digital events and recognize current limitations.

"In its current form, that is not possible due to the limited space of the block, the scarcity and Bitcoin's lack of scale."

He suggests that scale scaling solution could allow Bitcoin support a variety of uses, including "anchoring" data from other systems. Guillemet proposes to create a robust Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin that allows for more efficient and flexible transaction processing, while leveraging the security of blockchain Bitcoin.

However, he also notes that simply "anchoring" data (hashing) into the Bitcoin blockchain is not sufficient to ensure the validity of the data without additional context and enforcement evidence. Guillemet believes that advancements such as OP_CAT or other improvement methods could enhance the functionality of Bitcoin, allowing it to support more applications without compromising its core principles.

He particularly supports the new specialized OP code designed to enable on-chain zk-SNARKs verification, allowing for enhanced Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions. The ability to use zk-SNARKs with Layer 2 will reduce the necessary trust in the off-chain processing and expand the potential for Bitcoin to function as a layer for settling non-financial data without increasing block space.

Guillemet's reflections on Bitcoin and blockchain technology highlight a journey from initial skepticism to high appreciation of Bitcoin's potential. He envisioned a future where Bitcoin's capabilities go beyond being a digital currency, provided that challenges in scalability and enforcement are addressed through innovative solutions. This perspective emphasizes the continuous development of blockchain technology and its potential expansion into various fields.