OP_CAT: The Bitcoin Script That Could Bring Smart Contracts to BTC

Nakamoto created OP_CAT in 2009 when he created Bitcoin. However, in 2010, he disabled it. For example, OP_CAT can bring smart contracts to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin had a smart contract option, but Satoshi Nakamoto disabled a function in 2010 that indirectly allowed for smart contracts. This function, known as OP_CAT, could merge two pieces of data and put them on top of a stack, making complex operations easier.

After the Taproot upgrade in 2021, which introduced Tapscript and limited all stack elements to 520 bytes, the memory issue that led to OP_CAT's disabling was resolved. Now, a proposal to reintroduce OP_CAT is pending, which could pave the way for advanced script capabilities, zero-knowledge applications, and potentially a Bitcoin virtual machine (BitVM).

However, changes to Bitcoin are slow due to its decentralized nature and cultural preferences, so it may take until 2025 for OP_CAT to be reactivated, if at all.

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