As Bitcoin grows in popularity, companies and programs are beginning to grow from it and the market it offers. ‘Liquid’ from Blockstream is one of these programs that has sprung up from Bitcoin. In the update by Johnny Dilley, Alex Fowler, and Ben Gorlick, “Liquid Beta Program Update”, they outline some of the advances Liquid, a sidechain is making with Bitcoin.
Liquid is the first sidechain that is federated and is fast and safe in its transfers. It was started in April and has been growing ever since at a rapid rate. It had spent time being tested out, and the company now has a new update available to the public.
Today, Blockstream stated that some of the biggest digital asset companies including exchanges are supporting Liquid in a private beta as it takes a leap into the world. They plan to expand even more over the next few weeks, through live network testing, users are now participating in testing their systems and software.
The benefits of using Liquid have been laid out. For one thing, transfers while using Liquid are instantaneous and exchanges are made right away without waiting for conversions to take place. Market makers can improve their capital efficiency by reducing balances held across multiple exchanges.
Users can be sure that the digital assets are authentic and not fake, so users are always dealing with verifiable assets. Users can also expect their privacy to be respected when they conduct their business since the transactions are completely personal and confidential.
Lastly, users have control over how they deal with their funds. They can hold them in their virtual “wallet”, or transfer them through networks as they desire. All of these various advantages give Liquid great value.