๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ (๐๐๐ฃ๐)
BIPs. Youโve likely heard of them, but what are they, and what is the process of integrating them into #Bitcoin?
Read on for a full explorationโฌ
Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) are vital documents that guide Bitcoinโs evolution. They can be suggested enhancements to Bitcoin, or provide information and guidelines. BIPs come in three forms: ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ (these affect most Bitcoin implementations), ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น (these provide guidelines), and ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ (these suggest non-protocol changes).
Below, we'll journey through the process of a BIP becoming a reality: ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, and ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. Each step is crucial, transforming a mere idea into a part of Bitcoin's ever-evolving code and community practices.
๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Every BIP starts as an idea to improve Bitcoin in some way. Before drafting, the proposer (or BIP champion) ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ด. This ensures the idea addresses real community needs, and is properly adjusted according to the feedback received.
๐
๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฃ
Once the idea has support, the champion writes the BIP itself. This involves publishing a technical document ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐บ ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ. This document is maintained in a versioned repository, where anyone can keep track of its evolution.
๐
๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ต ๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ, usually on the bitcoin-dev mailing list. Here, developers and users scrutinize the proposal. The author gathers feedback, refines the BIP, and works towards a consensus of acceptance.
๐
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
After refining the BIP based on community feedback, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ด ๐จ๐ช๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ. A BIP editor gives it a unique number and categorizes it. This marks its official entry into the review process.
๐
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
The BIP then progresses through various statuses. ๐ฟ๐ง๐๐๐ฉ BIPs become ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐๐ when they're complete and have community support. ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐๐ can turn ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก when they meet real-world adoption criteria. If a BIP doesn't progress, it's marked as ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐. Each type of BIP, especially those suggesting network changes, has specific requirements for progression.
๐
๐๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Finally, if the BIP has lasted this long, ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ. This usually requires consensus from the enforcers of Bitcoinโs code and, in some cases, a majority agreement from miners. This process ensures that any change is thoroughly vetted and agreed upon by the community.
๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป. They ensure every proposed change undergoes thorough scrutiny and debate, which is appropriate, considering the community-driven nature of the network. ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป.
Now you know what BIPs are, how theyโre made, and the process for them to be added onto Bitcoin!
Very #few understand this, so be sure to ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค and ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ this, so this knowledge can spread.
And you never know when youโll be asked about this, so ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ it too!
What BIPs would you like to see activated on Bitcoin?
Let me know in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ