Fractal Podcast Episode 2: UniSat’s Lorenzo - Expanding Bitcoin Scalability with Fractal
Lorenzo, a core contributor to Fractal and founder of UniSat, recently shared insights into Fractal’s vision, emphasizing its commitment to pushing Bitcoin beyond its current limits while staying true to its foundational structure.
Through innovative scaling solutions and developer-friendly tools, Fractal is empowering builders to redefine what’s possible, using Bitcoin's foundational elements but with faster block times and a unique cadence mining structure.
A Fresh Take on Scaling Bitcoin
Fractal’s primary mission is to address Bitcoin’s inherent scalability issues without compromising its decentralized nature. According to Lorenzo, the core challenge for many Bitcoin developers has been the blockchain’s limited throughput. Fractal addresses this by introducing recursive and horizontally scalable instances, much like rooms in a palace that can be adapted, connected, or isolated to fit various purposes. Each instance of Fractal retains Bitcoin’s security while extending its utility for a variety of use cases.
Fractal achieves this with a minimal but effective modification to Bitcoin’s infrastructure—ensuring compatibility and maintaining the original security principles. Builders now are able to experiment on Fractal, leveraging features like the enabled OP_CAT opcode, which has opened the doors for new opportunities in development.
Opportunities for Builders
The Fractal ecosystem is designed to support developers at every stage. Developers can seamlessly transition between building on Bitcoin and Fractal. Lorenzo highlighted that Fractal’s compatibility ensures developers need only minor adjustments to build projects that work across both platforms—demonstrating the ease with which UniSat enabled support for Fractal on their wallet in under an hour.
Fractal’s mainnet launched on September 9, 2024, introducing features like cadence mining, which splits block rewards between merge mining and permissionless mining—inviting Bitcoin miners to extend their hash rate contributions. This approach has garnered a significant interest from the mining community, with over 50% of Bitcoin’s hash rate now supporting Fractal. Such momentum underscores the interest and trust the community has placed in the Fractal vision.
Driving Experimentation and Adoption
Fractal is more than a blockchain; it is a commitment to Bitcoin’s evolution.
To foster growth and support builders, Fractal has launched an ecosystem grant program—most recently awarding grants during Season One. Through this program, builders receive support for infrastructure projects, customer services, and developer platforms that further expand Fractal’s capabilities.
Lorenzo’s philosophy revolves around empowering developers to experiment without fear of failure. He encourages builders to leverage Fractal as an extension of Bitcoin, bridging it to new sectors such as gaming, finance, and beyond. Fractal’s flexible architecture allows it to scale both horizontally and vertically—creating a system capable of addressing multiple real-world use cases, from enhancing financial infrastructure to revolutionizing gaming ecosystems.
Looking Forward
Fractal’s future lies in its ability to extend Bitcoin while maintaining compatibility. Lorenzo is committed to ensuring that builders can innovate within the framework of Bitcoin, experimenting with new constructs and pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved. By following Bitcoin’s core principles and adding layers of adaptability, Fractal aims to serve as a transformative infrastructure for developers seeking to leverage Bitcoin’s power for diverse applications.
Builders interested in joining this evolving journey can explore Fractal’s resources and participate in the ecosystem grant program. The path forward for Bitcoin is one of scalability, experimentation, and collaboration—and Fractal is opening the door for builders to take it to the next level.
Join Us
If you’re a developer, miner, or enthusiast intrigued by the opportunities Fractal offers, now is the time to get involved.
Check our ecosystem support page for more information on how you can contribute, collaborate, and help shape the future of scalable Bitcoin with Fractal.
