Bridging BRC-20 to Ethereum

Abstract: In this paper, we design, implement, and (partially-) evaluate a lightweight bridge (as a type of middleware) to connect the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks that were heterogeneously uncontactable before. Inspired by the recently introduced Bitcoin Request Comment (BRC-20) standard, we leverage the flexibility of Bitcoin inscriptions by embedding editable operations within each satoshi and mapping them to programmable Ethereum smart contracts. A user can initialize his/her requests from the Bitcoin network, subsequently triggering corresponding actions on the Ethereum network. We validate the lightweight nature of our solution and its ability to facilitate secure and seamless interactions between two heterogeneous ecosystems.