What is the bitcoin taproot upgrade and why is it important?

• The Taproot upgrade is an improvement to the Bitcoin protocol, aiming to enhance privacy, efficiency, and smart contract capabilities.

• The upgrade was activated in November 2021, following a 90% consensus among Bitcoin miners.

• Taproot is a soft fork, meaning it is backward compatible with older versions of the Bitcoin software.

The Taproot upgrade is an enhancement to the Bitcoin protocol, striving to improve the privacy and efficiency of the network. It was activated in November 2021, following a 90% consensus among Bitcoin miners. This upgrade is a soft fork, meaning it is backward compatible with older versions of the Bitcoin software, avoiding the need for a divisive hard fork.

The Taproot upgrade encompasses three Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs): BIP340 (Schnorr Signatures), BIP341 (Taproot), and BIP342 (Tapscript). These proposals strive to improve the privacy, efficiency, and smart contract capabilities of the Bitcoin network.

The Taproot proposal was first submitted by a Bitcoin developer, Greg Maxwell, in 2018. Pieter Wuille, another Bitcoin developer, is the author of the three BIPs that codified Taproot. In 2020, developers Tim Ruffing, A.J. Townes, and Jonas Nick joined the project and worked on implementing the upgrade alongside Maxwell and Wuille.

The Taproot upgrade aims to improve the privacy and efficiency of the Bitcoin network. It introduces Schnorr Signatures, which aims to provide a secure and less data-intensive way to authorize transactions. This upgrade also uses a technique called "MAST" to commit less smart contract transaction data to the blockchain while obscuring some private transaction information.

Moreover, Taproot outfits Bitcoin with an upgraded transaction programming language, which utilizes Schnorr and Taproot technology. This allows developers to implement future Bitcoin upgrades more efficiently.

One of the benefits of the Taproot upgrade is its potential to encourage the implementation of smart contracts on the Bitcoin network. Smart contracts can eliminate intermediaries from transactions, opening the door to decentralized finance (DeFi) for Bitcoin.

While the Taproot upgrade was activated in November 2021, its full impacts will take time to be fully realized. As more developers and users adopt and utilize the new features introduced by Taproot, Bitcoin's network is expected to become more efficient, private, and capable of supporting complex smart contracts.

This upgrade demonstrates the evolution of the Bitcoin protocol to meet the growing demands and challenges of the digital currency ecosystem.