Broly: Inscribe BTC from Starknet

Broly is a bridge between Starknet (STARK) and Bitcoin (BTC) inscriptions, and will make it way simpler to inscribe things on Bitcoin without having to hold BTC or interact with the Bitcoin network itself. 

It’s similar to a matchmaking service - users submit requests for inscriptions on Starknet, and in the background, there’s an off-chain service that manages the Bitcoin transactions. A Starknet contract is looking over everyone’s shoulder at every step to keep things honest.

Here’s how it works: You send us in what you want and they'll provide a quote. Another (a “submitter”) pays the Bitcoin fees and manages the inscription process itself. Once they accept the transaction, they prove it to Broly's contract, which puts it through some hefty cryptographic rigors to verify everything's on the up and up. 

Then, you can go and claim your freshly inscribed satoshi by linking to the validated Bitcoin transaction.

It works its magic thanks to two bits of tech: Utu Relay and Raito. ‘Utu Relay is providing Bitcoin block headers to Starknet so developers can verify transactions are actually part of the main chain. Raito translates the consensus rules of Bitcoin into Cairo, Starknet’s language, for efficient validation. 

This structure prevents tampering with the chain data without also being recognizable through proof of a longer chain. For developers, this is huge. Now you can create Bitcoin-based NFT experiences without needing your users to also hold BTC. Because it’s trustless, anyone can become a submitter to handle requests. 

And, with all the things you coud do with it, Utu Relay brings up a world of possibilities - from ensuring you know when someone has been convicted of a crime to building features for longtime bitcoin holders. Raito is even pushing into the realms of how we could manage light clients in the future using STARK proofs.

Broly allows us to mix the security of Bitcoin with today’s developer-friendly platforms. If you’ve wanted to play around with on-chain inscriptions but felt the limitations of Bitcoin’s offering were holding you back, then this could be what you’ve been waiting for.

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