Hey reader, welcome back to the Midl Dev Diaries.. This is the 5th chapter of our ongoing series and today we’re once again tackling the challenges of BTCFi, and showing how we’ve solved them. We’ll also share our vision for Midland for the BTCFi space as a whole.
You might come across some technical terms, but don’t worry, we ensured that they are still readable for non-techie-savvy people. Otherwise feel free to use Google or chatGPT for some of these.
This time, we’re diving into cryptography and our TSS architecture, and explaining the thinking behind our decisions.
What is TSS and why simple Schnorr isn’t enough?
After successfully delivering proof-of-concept apps, we moved on to architecture with a focus on Midl’s security and decentralization.
Just to remind you, the simplified transaction flow of Midl looks like this:
At the core of Midl’s transaction execution, assets are routed through TSS (Threshold Signature Scheme). TSS technology originally designed to be validated by 27 parties, offering a decent level of decentralization.
But of course, that wasn’t enough. Not for us. Not for our users. Not for our devs. So, the next step was obvious: upgrade the cryptography.
Basic Schnorr signatures weren’t cutting it anymore, so we switched to FROST, which allows for hundreds of parties to sign transactions efficiently.
This upgrade brought a major benefit: we now have at least 201 validators, dynamically and efficiently rotated without putting too much strain on the nodes. Big win.
UTXO Management: Just as important as buffed up cryptography
Alongside the cryptographic improvements, we also had to rethink UTXO management, specifically how we structure Sats and Rune assets.
Traditionally, UTXOs are kept separate. But that approach doesn’t support efficient validator rotation or a stable setup.
So we introduced a single UTXO for RUNEs and another one for Sats. This lets us not only rotate key shards but revamp the entire configuration, adding robustness across the board.
After months of thorough testing, we’re proud to say that we’re among the first to implement FROST at production level. It’s currently under audit, and we’ll share those results with you once they’re in.
Next steps
This cryptography work happened in parallel with all our other developments. Along the way, we’ve solved a bunch of tough problems - always with DevEx at the head of the cornet, because let’s face it: BTCFi needs more devs. Developers, developers, developers.
In the next chapter of the Dev Series, we’ll explore some of the cool features in MIDL.js. But if you’re curious now, go check it out: https://midl-js-lib.midl.xyz/
And, of course, give us some feedback on that chapter! Love ya & see ya, Midl Dev Dep
