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Rootstock Stack

Rootstock virtual machine (RVM) is the core of the Smart Contract platform. Smart Contracts are executed by all network full nodes. The result of the execution of a Smart Contract can be the processing of inter-contract messages, creating monetary transactions and changing the state of contract-persistent memory. The RVM is compatible with EVM at the op-code level, allowing Ethereum contracts to run flawlessly on Rootstock.

Currently, the VM is executed by interpretation. In a future network upgrade, the Rootstock community is aiming to improve the VM performance substantially. One proposal is to emulate the EVM by dynamically retargeting EVM opcodes to a subset of Java-like bytecode, and a security-hardened and memory restricted Java-like VM will become the new VM (RVM2). This may bring Rootstock code execution to a performance close to native code.

Main features:

  • Independent virtual machine, that is highly compatible with EVM at the opcode level
  • Run Ethereum DApps with the security of the Bitcoin network
  • Performance improvement pipeline documented in numerous RSKIPs created by the Rootstock community

Rootstock Technology Stack - High Level

Bitcoin

BTC

Is a store and transfer of value. The blockchain is secure because miners with high infrastructure and energy costs create the new blocks to be added to the blockchain every 10 minutes. The more hashing power they provide, the more secure the network is.

Rootstock

RBTC

Is the first open source smart contract platform that is powered by the bitcoin network. Rootstock's goal is to add value and functionality to the bitcoin ecosystem by enabling smart-contracts, near instant payments, and higher-scalability.

The Smart Bitcoin (RBTC) is the native currency in Rootstock and it is used to pay for the gas required for the execution of transactions. It is pegged 1:1 with Bitcoin, which means in Rootstock there are exactly 21M RBTC. A Powpeg allows the transfer of bitcoins from the Bitcoin blockchain to the Rootstock blockchain and vice-versa.

Last updated on by Edwin Liava'a