Bitcoin World Background
Commit-and-Reveal Batch Settlement

Scale Bitcoin PaymentsWithout Trust Trade-offs

ByteStream batches 100+ off-chain micropayments into a single on-chain settlement using Taproot, MuSig2, and CSV timelocks. Non-custodial by design. No new opcodes required.

CSV exit paths for payers
Fee-positive batch economics
Package relay, CPFP anchors
Request IntegrationRead Protocol Spec

Fast, Low-Fee Bitcoin Payments

Each shard lets you send unlimited off-chain payments that batch into a single on-chain settlement, saving time and fees.

Key Shard Parameters & Fees

Recipients per batch: 100
Multiple payments combined into one settlement for efficiency.
Minimum per payment: 1,000 sats
Send even small amounts securely off-chain.
CSV timeout: 144 blocks (24 hours)
You can exit your account safely on-chain after 24 hours.
Cooperative signature: 2-of-2 MuSig2
Payer and Hub signatures ensure secure commitments.
Typical fees per intent: 40–50 sats
Covers gas, base, and network fees; fees from 100 intents cover the on-chain settlement cost of 2,000 sats.

"Your BTC stays under your control. Off-chain payments are instant, low-cost, and batch-settle safely on-chain."

Commit-and-Reveal Architecture

How ByteStream Works

A commit-and-reveal payment layer. Fund once with a Taproot shard, transact unlimited times off-chain, batch-settle when you need L1 finality. One signed spend per input eliminates state conflicts.

Fund a Shard

Create a Taproot shard UTXO with 2-of-2 MuSig2(Pk_U, Pk_H) cooperative path and CSV(144) unilateral exit. Min 10,000 sats. Your keys, your recovery.

Stream Off-Chain Intents

Send unlimited micropayments (≥1,000 sats). Each intent updates the off-chain ledger and Merkle log. Fees: 20 + 20 + ⌊0.01% × amount⌋ sats.

Request Settlement (Reveal)

Payer or receiver initiates reveal. Shard freezes. Hub builds one fully-signed settlement, co-signs via 2-of-2. Requester pays L2 settlement fee upfront.

Hub Broadcasts via CPFP

Hub uses package relay to broadcast parent + CPFP anchor children. Settlement confirms. All recipients receive standard P2TR outputs. Shard rebases to new UTXO.

Non-Custodial Security

Your keys, your Bitcoin. Every shard includes a recovery timelock—if the hub goes offline, you can reclaim your funds after 24 hours. Advanced cryptography prevents unauthorized changes, and the single-spend-per-shard design eliminates conflicts entirely.

Fee-Positive Economics

Small per-payment fees add up to cover settlement costs. When ~100 payments batch together, everyone pays roughly 40-50 sats total. The requester pays the settlement fee upfront, ensuring the hub never loses money broadcasting your transaction.

Package Relay + CPFP

Settlements use Bitcoin's package relay feature, letting the hub broadcast parent and child transactions together. Small anchor outputs enable flexible fee-bumping, ensuring confirmations even during high-fee periods without security risks.

Settlement Transaction Structure

One on-chain transaction settles everything: spends your shard balance and distributes payments to recipients, creates a new shard for your remaining balance, and includes hub anchors for reliable fee management.

Input

Current Shard Balance
Spent via 2-of-2 MuSig2 cooperative signature (your key + hub key)

Outputs

Recipient Payments
~100 standard P2TR outputs to payment recipients
New Shard UTXO
Your remaining balance in a fresh Taproot shard for future payments
Hub Anchors
Small CPFP outputs for fee bumping to ensure settlement confirms reliably
Single Transaction
All payments settle atomically
Batch Efficiency
~100 recipients per settlement
Fee Optimized
CPFP anchors ensure confirmation
ByteStream Workflow

How It Works End-to-End

From account setup to on-chain settlement, here's the complete journey of a ByteStream payment.

1

Create Your ByteStream Account

You set up a shared Taproot wallet with the Hub. This becomes your secure ByteStream "account" where all fast payments happen.

2

Add Bitcoin to Your Account

You fund your ByteStream wallet with a normal Bitcoin transaction. Once confirmed, your balance appears instantly inside ByteStream.

3

Send Instant Payments

You make fast, off-chain payments to anyone. Each payment updates your balance and credits the recipient — no on-chain fees, no waiting.

4

Prepare for Settlement

When you want funds on-chain, you request a settlement. Your account "freezes" temporarily while a final transaction is created.

5

Cooperative Settlement to Bitcoin

You and the Hub co-sign one settlement transaction. It's broadcast to Bitcoin, fee-bumped, and recipients receive real BTC on-chain.

6

Funds Confirm On-Chain

The settlement confirms on Bitcoin. Your account resets with a new balance, ready for another round of fast payments.

7

Safety Exit (If Hub Goes Offline)

You can always withdraw on your own using a time-locked key. A watchtower monitors and helps ensure your exit succeeds.

For Builders

Integrate Bitcoin MicropaymentsWithout Compromising Custody

ByteStream is infrastructure. Wallets, processors, and fintechs can integrate high-throughput Bitcoin payments using today's Bitcoin primitives—no soft forks, no new trust models.

Wallet Integration

  • Expose "Stream via ByteStream" for sub-1000-sat payments
  • Display "Available (off-chain)" and "Settled (on-chain)" balances
  • Show per-shard state: OPEN, FROZEN, CONFIRMED
  • Merkle receipt for every incoming payment intent
  • User-controlled settlement with priority selection

Merchant & Platform APIs

  • Accept instant BTC micropayments without custody
  • Batch-settle to your L1 wallet on your schedule
  • Request reveal as receiver for faster finality
  • Pure Bitcoin: no wrapped tokens, no sidechains
  • PSBTv2-based cooperative signing flows

Protocol Primitives

Taproot + MuSig2 cooperative paths
CSV(144) unilateral exit guarantees
CPFP anchors with package relay
No new opcodes or consensus changes

ByteStream leverages native Bitcoin features without requiring soft forks. Built on Taproot for efficient scripting, MuSig2 for non-interactive cooperative signing, and CSV timelocks for trustless exit paths. CPFP anchors with package relay ensure reliable settlement confirmation under any fee market conditions.

REST API Endpoints

Shard creation & balance queries
Payment intent submission
Settlement reveal requests
Transaction history & Merkle proofs

Simple, RESTful API for shard management, payment streaming, settlement requests, and audit queries. Endpoints support shard creation with PSBTv2 workflows, real-time intent submission, on-demand reveal requests with priority selection, and comprehensive state/history queries for reconciliation.

Default Protocol Parameters

CSV timeout (payer)
144 blocks (~24h)
Min account balance
10,000 sats
Min payment intent
1,000 sats
Target batch size
~100 recipients
Est. settlement cost
2,000 sats
Anchor size
330-600 sats
Ready to integrate ByteStream?

Access API docs, testnet credentials, and developer support.

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Security & Privacy

Security & Privacy You Can Rely On

Your funds, your control. ByteStream uses Bitcoin-native security with best practices for privacy and compliance.

Non-Custodial by Design

Your funds remain under your control at all times.

ByteStream cannot spend your shard UTXO without your signature.

Exit Anytime with CSV Protection

Built-in Taproot + CSV scripts let you exit your account safely on-chain, without trusting the hub.

Ensures your BTC is always recoverable, even if the hub is offline or misbehaves.

Fairness for Recipients

Hub honesty ensures recipients are credited correctly in the latest commitment.

MVP trust model is complemented by future layers of verifiable receipts and Merkle proofs.

Fee Safety & Optimization

Hub uses "hub anchors" and CPFP to make sure transactions confirm on-chain reliably.

RBF may be used later, but never required for safety.

Privacy-First Approach

Taproot outputs minimize metadata on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Optional Merkle root publishing allows verifiable transparency without revealing sensitive details.

Compliance-Friendly

Users can export or delete their data per policy.

ByteStream avoids storing unnecessary personal data while keeping audit trails for internal reconciliation.

Learn More About Our Security
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Technical details about ByteStream's commit-and-reveal architecture

Every shard UTXO includes a CSV(144) + Pk_U script path. If the hub disappears or becomes uncooperative, payers can wait ~24 hours and unilaterally recover their funds on L1 using their own private key. No hub permission required. The hub can delay but never steal.
When a payer or receiver requests settlement, the shard immediately freezes. The hub builds exactly one fully signed settlement transaction (parent) spending the shard via the 2-of-2 cooperative path. Hub-controlled CPFP anchors are included for fee bumping. The hub then broadcasts using package relay. Once confirmed, the shard rebases to a new UTXO and unfreezes.
The settlement requester (payer or receiver initiating reveal) pays an L2 settlement fee upfront in ByteStream balance. The hub uses this fee (and accumulated per-intent fees) to fund the actual on-chain CPFP transaction. Operationally, the hub broadcasts; economically, the requester pays.
Each off-chain intent charges: fee = gas_fee (20 sats) + base_fee (20 sats) + ⌊0.01% × amount⌋. These fees accumulate per shard. The protocol ensures ∑fees ≥ F_est_sat (estimated settlement cost of ~2,000 sats) over ~100 intents, making each shard epoch fee-positive.
No. Recipients receive standard P2TR outputs on L1 after settlement. Any Bitcoin wallet can receive funds. ByteStream-aware wallets get enhanced UX (off-chain balance tracking, Merkle receipts, settlement requests), but are not required.
ByteStream enforces 'one signed spend per input.' Once a shard is frozen for settlement, the hub will not co-sign any alternative transaction for that UTXO. Only after the settlement confirms (or is explicitly aborted) can the shard resume. This eliminates state conflicts.
Lightning is optimized for bidirectional payment channels and routing. ByteStream is optimized for one-to-many batch settlements (payroll, merchant payouts, platform distributions) with simpler UX, no channel management, and no routing. Different use cases, complementary technologies.
Taproot (P2TR), MuSig2 (2-of-2 cooperative path), CSV timelocks (unilateral exits), CPFP anchors (fee bumping), and package relay (broadcast parent+children). No new opcodes, no soft forks, no sidechains. Works on Bitcoin today.
Minimum is 1,000 sats per intent. This prevents dust outputs on settlement and discourages spam. Since settlement costs are amortized across many intents, tiny payments would be uneconomical and could harm batch efficiency.
ByteStream is currently on Bitcoin testnet with early design partners. Mainnet launch is targeted for Q2 2025 pending security audits, additional protocol refinements, and integration testing.
Early Access Program

Build the Future ofBitcoin Micropayments

We're seeking design partners, wallet integrators, merchant platforms, and strategic investors who understand that Bitcoin payments must scale without compromising self-custody.

Request IntegrationTechnical Spec (v2)
Wallet Developers

Integrate ByteStream APIs, access testnet, review PSBTv2 flows

Design Partners

Co-develop use cases, refine protocol, shape roadmap

Investors

Learn about architecture, economics, and mainnet roadmap

Now
Testnet Live
Q2 2026
Mainnet Target
Pending
Security Audits
Required
No Soft Forks