The Bitcoin Optech Newsletter discusses the Lichen design for a single-issuer Layer 2, allowing users to redeem bitcoin onchain without issuer cooperation. It uses Groth16 proofs and builds on LN-GAP, replacing the honest-majority committee with onchain dispute resolution.
EIP-8288 proposes recursive aggregation using a fixed protocol-level verification key. Implemented in Parano1d, it uses a finite authenticated bank of verifier classes, supporting heterogeneous recursion with different proof sizes. The proposal addresses deferred verification and class compatibility.
The research explores the value of free options in encrypted mempools and proposes a solution called Blind Simultaneous Release (BSR) to eliminate them. BSR fixes the executed set before anyone can condition on new information, using only hashes, making it post-quantum.
Solidity v0.8.38 has been released, addressing a low-severity bug in the Yul optimizer and improving the performance of the DataFlowAnalyzer, resulting in faster compilation with the Yul optimizer enabled.