Taproot Has Been Activated on the Bitcoin Network – What You Need To Know

The Bitcoin network is better than ever.

Four years after the last major evolution of the Bitcoin network, Taproot has just been activated at block height 709,632 on Sunday, November 14, 2021, at 5:15 UTC. This block which will remain an important milestone in the history of Bitcoin was mined by F2Pool.

The last major evolution of Bitcoin was in 2017 with the introduction of Segregated Witness.

With Taproot, the Bitcoin network is becoming better than ever. More efficient, with lower fees, better privacy, and expanded smart contract capabilities. In the short term, Taproot's impacts won't be huge, but in the long term, they are critical to the Bitcoin system.

Bitcoin continues to evolve at the pace it should

First of all, it is proof that the Bitcoin network is evolving, contrary to what some bad tongues frequently repeat to attack Bitcoin. If Bitcoin is evolving, it is doing so at its own pace to guarantee the security of the more than $1.2 trillion placed safely within its decentralized network. The slightest bug in the Bitcoin network would have dramatic consequences for the Bitcoin revolution.

We must move forward in a risk-free manner. So Bitcoin is moving at the pace it needs to move at.

The changes to the Bitcoin system introduced by Taproot are carried by BIP 341 and BIP 342. Feel free to go to GitHub for more technical details. For those who want a brief, non-technical overview, I'll detail everything you need to know about Taproot here.