Bitcoin brings PoW security enhancement, Babylon provides additional protection for PoS chains

The Babylon project aims to allow BTC holders to earn staking rewards without leaving the Bitcoin network, while also providing additional security guarantees for PoS blockchains. Its core concept is to combine the economic security of Bitcoin with Cosmos IBC cross-chain communication technology, using a special staking mechanism to provide PoW-based security supplements for PoS chains.

The main features of Babylon include:

1. The "remote staking" mechanism allows the staked BTC to remain on the Bitcoin mainnet.

2. Create special transaction types through customized Bitcoin scripts and restrictions, enabling staking lock-up functionality.

3. Use the Cosmos IBC protocol to transmit messages and data between Bitcoin and other blockchains.

4. Provide an additional security layer for PoS chains by recording the hash values of critical data onto the Bitcoin blockchain as "checkpoints".

The architecture of Babylon mainly consists of four parts: the Bitcoin mainnet, the Babylon aggregation layer, the IBC communication protocol, and the target PoS chain. BTC holders can choose to stake their targets in Babylon, and then lock their BTC on the Bitcoin mainnet. The Babylon aggregation layer is responsible for processing the key data of the PoS chain and regularly sends it to the Bitcoin network via IBC to establish "checkpoints."

In terms of security mechanisms, Babylon uses Schnorr signatures and EOTS( to implement a penalty mechanism with extractable one-time signatures ). If a staker attempts a double-spending attack, their private key will be exposed, and the staked BTC will also be burned.

Babylon brings multiple benefits to PoS chains:

1. Provide native BTC staking for higher yield opportunities
2. Reduce the security budget and token emissions of the PoS chain
3. Mitigating the risk of "long-range attacks"
4. Raise the threshold for responding to active attacks

Compared to Eigenlayer, Babylon, while limited in functional flexibility, may have advantages in handling long-range attacks and shortening the staking lock-up period. Overall, Babylon introduces the PoW security of Bitcoin to the PoS ecosystem, providing new ideas for blockchain security.