Core
Status
Mainnet
Type
Sidechain
Fee Token
CORE
TVL
₿ 5527
Core (in relation to Bitcoin) is an EVM sidechain with a hybrid consensus mechanism, Satoshi Plus, that leverages both DPoW and DPoS. It uses a federated multisig to bridge BTC with multiple parties ensuring the honesty of the two-way peg. The native token of the network is CORE, which is used for transaction fees, staking, and governance in Core DAO.
BRIDGE
DATA AVAILABILITY
OPERATORS
SETTLEMENT ASSURANCE
Risk Analysis
Bridge Custody
Unverified risk
❓
Funds are custodied in a federated multi-sig, with a number of parties ensuring the honesty of the bridge
Users trust various parties in maintaining the honesty of Core’s two-way peg with Bitcoin. Lockers are the party responsible for securing the bitcoin that backs coreBTC on Core Chain. These actors stake collateral, in the form of Core tokens, in order to participate as a Locker. In the event of maliciousing moving bitcoin from the multi-sig, or being unable to fulfill withdrawals, Lockers would be slashed and lose the collateral they posted.
Other parties in the bridge set up are responsible for monitoring the Locker’s activity and initiating the slashing process.
Other parties in the bridge set up are responsible for monitoring the Locker’s activity and initiating the slashing process.
Data Availability
Medium risk
⚠️
Data availability requirement fulfilled by Core chain full nodes
Core Chain's data availability requirement is fulfilled by its own network of full nodes. Anyone with enough computational resources can run a Core Chain full node.
Network Operators
Medium risk
⚠️
Core's hybrid consensus mechanism operates the network
Core Chain has a network of validators who participate as block producers. Each day, the 23 validators with the highest hybrid score (from DPOW and DPOS) are elected to participate in block production. Any Core chain full node can register to become a part of this set. Core Chain does not support exits that circumvent its validator set. This means that users must trust Core Chain validators to include their transactions in blocks.
There is a minimium stake to run a Core Chain validator node.
There is a minimium stake to run a Core Chain validator node.
Settlement Assurance
Medium risk
⚠️
Transaction finality is provided by Core Chain consensus and has no assurances inherited from Bitcoin
Settlement is finalized by Core Chain's alternative consensus mechanism rather than on Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Security
Core indirectly inherits security from Bitcoin consensus participants
As a part of its hybrid consensus mechanism, Bitcoin miners can delegate hashrate to Core validators to improve their overall voting power.
Core Chain requires another token to function
The CORE token is required to pay for transaction fees and smart contract execution on Core Chain. It is also used for staking and governance. The token is directly required for the security of the network, as the staking of it is one of the two variables used to create a weighted score for validator election and leader selection.
No MEV introduced on Bitcoin
Core Chain does not introduce any MEV on Bitcoin. Users trust Core Chain validators to not extract MEV.
Core Chain indirectly contributes to the security budget.
Core validators will reward miners who delegated their hashrate to them with newly issued CORE tokens.
Withdrawals
Withdrawals from coreBTC rely on several permissionless roles.
Core Chain’s consensus-enshrined bridged BTC, coreBTC, relies on several roles for withdrawals, although they are all permissionless. It also relies on the liveness of Core Chain, as one of those roles is a set of smart contracts on Core Chain.
Technology
Satoshi Plus
Satoshi Plus is a hybrid model of Delegated Proof-of-Work (DPoW) and Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS). DPOW and DPOS are used to select the validators participating in Core Chain consensus.
DPoW is performed by Bitcoin miners and mining pools who delegate their existing Bitcoin hash rate to select validators on Core Chain. DPoS is performed by those who delegate their CORE tokens, or BTC, to select validators on Core Chain. A weighted score is assigned to a validator via the amount of Bitcoin hash rate and delegate stake they receive. The top 21 validators per this weighted score are the ones elected to participate in Core Chain consnesus.
Validators who are elected to participate in block production earn block rewards through newly issued CORE tokens and fees. Validators choose how much of these rewards they share with miners and delegators, if any, but are incentivized to share as much as possible to ensure that miners and delegators continue to select them for block production.
By separating Proof-of-Work mining from block production, Satoshi Plus is able to mitigate against MEV extraction from Bitcoin miners.
DPoW is performed by Bitcoin miners and mining pools who delegate their existing Bitcoin hash rate to select validators on Core Chain. DPoS is performed by those who delegate their CORE tokens, or BTC, to select validators on Core Chain. A weighted score is assigned to a validator via the amount of Bitcoin hash rate and delegate stake they receive. The top 21 validators per this weighted score are the ones elected to participate in Core Chain consnesus.
Validators who are elected to participate in block production earn block rewards through newly issued CORE tokens and fees. Validators choose how much of these rewards they share with miners and delegators, if any, but are incentivized to share as much as possible to ensure that miners and delegators continue to select them for block production.
By separating Proof-of-Work mining from block production, Satoshi Plus is able to mitigate against MEV extraction from Bitcoin miners.
Ethereum Virtual Machine
Core Chain uses the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) for its execution environment. While this environment was initially created for Ethereum, it has been adopted by many other networks.
Like many other Bitcoin sidechains, Core Chain leverages the EVM to tap into existing developer resources and tooling.
Like many other Bitcoin sidechains, Core Chain leverages the EVM to tap into existing developer resources and tooling.
coreBTC
coreBTC is a native bridged BTC. Several roles are involved in the burning and minting of coreBTC.
Lockers hold BTC after minting and distribute it after burning. They must be overcollateralized at risk of liquidation by Liquidators. Other roles are involved as well, such as Guardians, Bitcoin Light Clients, Slashers, Relayers, and Verifiers.
Lockers hold BTC after minting and distribute it after burning. They must be overcollateralized at risk of liquidation by Liquidators. Other roles are involved as well, such as Guardians, Bitcoin Light Clients, Slashers, Relayers, and Verifiers.
Faster block times
Core Chain produces a block every three seconds, as of March 2024.
Lower fees
Core Chain fees average in the order of cents as of March 2024.
Use Cases
DeFi
The most popular use case for Core Chain is DeFi. Core Chain has a number of DeFi applications, including lending, borrowing, and decentralized exchanges, with a focus on bridged BTC assets.
BTC Staking
Core chain enables BTC holders to natively stake their BTC, as a part of DPOS in Satoshi Plus, and delegate that stake to a specific validator in the Core Chain network.
Operator
Core Chain is operated by validators
Block production is managed by a permissionless set of validators. Users trust the majority of validators not to collude.
Source Code
Code is open-source
All code related to the Core Chain project is free and open source.