Bitcoin could be one upgrade away from overtaking Ethereum DeFi
A long-dormant string of code called OP_CAT could be the secret to unlocking the true potential of Bitcoin for DeFi and see it surge past Ethereum DeFi in the future.
A single, long-dormant string of code, hidden deep within the original Bitcoin stack, can introduce a suite of new functionality that could potentially see the Bitcoin network rival Ethereum in terms of decentralized finance (DeFi) activity.
The upgrade is called “OP_CAT” (short for operation code concatenate) and refers to a few simple lines of code originally introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto. This code was part of Bitcoin’s initial scripting system and effectively increased Bitcoin’s transaction utility and expanded the variety of operations users could perform with Bitcoin.
However, Nakamoto was initially worried that OP_CAT could expose the Bitcoin network to security risks, including denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and the creation of exponential memory requirements that could potentially overwhelm the network.