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RSK

What Is RSK?

RootStock (RSK) is a Bitcoin sidechain. When bitcoins are transferred to the RSK blockchain, they become "rootcoins" (RTC, the corresponding token symbol for RSK). Rootcoins are essentially bitcoins living on the RSK blockchain, and they can be transferred back to the Bitcoin blockchain at any time without additional transaction fees.

RTC is the token of the RSK sidechain, used to pay miners for transfer fees and contract processing fees. Rootcoins do not create a new digital currency: all rootcoins are converted from bitcoins on the Bitcoin blockchain. RSK ensures that RTC on RSK and BTC on the Bitcoin network are pegged 1:1 through a federated peg mechanism.

The transfer execution process on the RSK platform is: a user sends bitcoins to the sidechain, the bitcoins are then locked on the sidechain, and the user receives corresponding RTC tokens. Sending back to the Bitcoin main chain works in reverse - RTC is locked and BTC is unlocked.

Through RTC issued via the RSK network, we can enjoy Bitcoin's value while also having an exceptional payment experience. On the network constructed by RSK, users can enjoy settlement within 30 seconds. This is a tremendous leap compared to the 10 minutes required for Bitcoin on-chain transactions.

Features of RSK

The RSK team believes that Bitcoin will eventually become the world's leading cryptocurrency. Therefore, the oldest blockchain also needs to incorporate some features of newer coins. RSK, as a BTC sidechain, adds new transaction speed verification and a BTC smart contract system.

  • RSK integrates Turing-complete smart contracts, adding smart contracts to Bitcoin and providing faster transaction speeds for the entire network.

  • RSK processes 300 transactions per second and can confirm almost all transactions within 20 seconds. RSK also uses the same mining mechanism as BTC.

  • As a BTC sidechain, when BTC is transferred to RSK it becomes RTC, with equal-value conversion requiring no transaction fees.