Clash of the Bitcoins Heats up as Bitcoin Cash [BCH] Releases its New Smart Contract Language Spedn

Much like in Genesis, in the beginning, there was nothing. With time there were numerous iterations to the blockchain. However, unlike God, the developers did not rest. Continuous improvement and change is the bedrock of modern technology. For better or worse Bitcoin [BTC] was forked. This offshoot was Bitcoin Cash [BCH], which gained a sort of notoriety for not supporting smart contracts. All this is set to change very soon says the chief developer, Tendo Pein, who announced recently that new changes will allow BCH to support such contracts.

Tendo has launched a high-level smart contract language known as Spedn which he hopes to integrate into the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. A little history for those who are unaware. In May 2018, a multitude of unique opcodes were reactivated to the Bitcoin Cash network. This was due to the hard fork done that month. It seems to be done to activate the OP_RETURN opcode, to provide the basis for colored coins (a class of methods used to associate real-world assets with addresses on the network).

In his Blog, the coder discussed the rationale behind this want to create Spedn. He noted the myriad roadblocks that he faced with Script, the existing programming language that the Bitcoin Cash network is coded with. The language had “the sole purpose of making your brain hurt”. He complained and set out to find a better way. This led him down the path of creating Spedn, a programming language that will interface with Script, and hopefully, make development simpler. The offshoot of this pursuit is that it will not only provide an improved experience but will also allow for more complex smart contracts.

For those who like to get to the nuts and bolts, Spedn syntax is similar to that of C. This is bound to make it more accessible to many. The return values will need to be explicitly typed and are purely functional. It also has the added functionality of being statistically typed. This should allow easier detection of errors during compilation. Spedn also has some interesting subroutines and procedures. For example, the zero confirmation forfeits is a procedure which can execute a specific implementation of zero-confirmation transactions.

While this is not a fully realized language just yet, it is certainly small steps in the right direction, allowing access to the Bitcoin Cash blockchain in order to integrate smart contracts on it. The resources about the language show that it is being developed and integrated in conjunction with others, who will no doubt bring their own experience into the fold. Hopefully, this will benefit the network and allow for a more holistic implementation.