Bitcoin

The Internet Computer (IC) interacts with the Bitcoin blockchain through the use of tECDSA, the Bitcoin integration, and a ledger canister called ckBTC.

tECDSA

tECDSA on the IC allows canisters to request access to threshold ECDSA keypairs on the tECDSA subnet. This functionality is exposed through two management canister methods:

• ecdsa_public_key
• sign_with_ecdsa

The following are examples using tECDSA:

• basic_bitcoin
• threshold_ecdsa

Bitcoin integration

The Bitcoin integration allows canisters on the IC to interact directly with the Bitcoin network. This functionality is exposed through the following management canister methods:

• bitcoin_get_balance
• bitcoin_get_current_fee_percentiles
• bitcoin_get_utxos
• bitcoin_send_transaction

The following are examples using the Bitcoin integration:

• basic_bitcoin
• bitcoin

ckBTC

ckBTC is a ledger canister deployed to the IC. It follows the ICRC standard, and can be accessed easily from an Azle canister using azle/canisters/ICRC if you only need the ICRC methods. For access to the full ledger methods you will need to create your own Service for now.

The following are examples using ckBTC:

• ckBTC