The following is a guest post by Matt Lockyer.

It’s no surprise that Bitcoin has received a lot of attention lately. As a store of value, the price has risen dramatically in 2017.

Typically, after a big price run-up, we see those profits go back into Alternative Coins (alts) and Ethereum ERC20 Tokens through centralized exchanges.

This is primarily because alts and Ethereum tokens have more utility applications made possible by smart contracts. Smart contracts will be increased efficiency in several existing and emerging markets by reducing the time and costs associated with intermediaries and contractual agreements. So why can’t businesses use Bitcoin directly in their smart contracts?

This question is driving the Rootstock team to develop a merged mining Ethereum Virtual Machine that runs alongside regular Bitcoin mining.

Developers use the same Solidity code for Ethereum smart contracts and publish these contracts on the Rootstock blockchain, allowing network fees and settlement of smart contract agreements to be conducted directly with Bitcoin. Popular Ethereum smart contract standards such as ERC20 Tokens are already implemented.

A specific use case would be an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) offering Rootstock tokens in exchange for contributions made in Bitcoin. Currently, when contributing to an ICO using Bitcoin, no tokens are credited to your Bitcoin address.

Tokens are manually generated and sent to a separate Ethereum address, creating an opportunity for human error and a burden for contributors to manage several accounts. As more public blockchains that support smart contracts go mainstream, businesses seeking to offer solutions will need to create, publish and manage several smart contracts and interoperability across multiple blockchains.

Etherparty, a blockchain agnostic smart contract platform from Vancouver based Vanbex Group, is aiming to be simple enough for non-developers to use.

Providing a single easy to use interface, Etherparty streamlines the creating, publishing and managing of smart contracts for businesses. A unified network token, FUEL, allows businesses to publish smart contracts and conduct transactions across multiple blockchains.

The Etherparty team has a strategic partnership with Rootstock, bringing easy to use smart contracts powered by Bitcoin to the masses.

A 2015 survey by the WEF reported that 58% of political respondents believed 10% of GDP will be stored on blockchains by 2025. With Rootstock providing infrastructure for smart contract settlement on the Bitcoin blockchain, a strategic partnership with Etherparty will bring the technology to the masses.

The blockchain agnostic smart contract platform Etherparty is providing an easy to use a home base for creating and managing smart contracts. Blockchains are eliminating issues of trust and accountability for businesses and accelerating markets. Are you ready?