Smart contracts on Bitcoin
Bringing expressive smart contracts and decentralized applications to Bitcoin with a new toolset
19 July 2025 4 mins read
What if you could take a smart contract, written using a modern language like Python, TypeScript, or Scala, and run it on Bitcoin without modifying Bitcoin itself?
Thanks to a novel compilation pipeline being developed at Input | Output (IO), that idea is becoming a reality. By combining a serialized smart contract format (Untyped Plutus Core – UPLC), a clever interpreter architecture (Control, Environment, Continuation (CEK) machine), and a widely supported open-source reduced instruction set architecture (RISC-V), IO…
A new era of smart contract verification on Cardano
Security matters. Learn more about a new tool that makes automated formal verification of Cardano contracts easier, faster, and more accessible than ever
17 July 2025 7 mins read
On Cardano, smart contracts are written in powerful surface languages, such as Plinth, Aiken, and Plu–ts, among others. These contracts control real, valuable assets. If they fail, funds could be stolen or permanently locked.
Input | Output (IO) is developing a new tool to bring formal verification to Cardano smart contracts. While existing tools in the ecosystem – based on…
Cardano tokenomics: design, incentives, and stablecoins
The July 2025 Cardano R&D Session brought together researchers, builders, and governance leaders to explore the future of tokenomics on Cardano. From validator incentives to stablecoin design, the discussion unpacked how economic mechanisms can drive sustainable growth, deepen decentralization, and strengthen ecosystem resilience.
9 July 2025 9 mins read
In the second installment of the Cardano R&D Sessions – a monthly series exploring the forefront of blockchain research and development – Input | Output Research (IOR), in collaboration with the Intersect Research Working Group, hosted a dynamic discussion on one of the ecosystem’s most pressing and complex topics: tokenomics.
Bringing together leading researchers and…
Breaking down the walls: making Cardano more developer-friendly
Project Acropolis is reimagining the Cardano node as a living ecosystem where developers can build applications from within, not just interface from outside
3 July 2025 8 mins read
Cardano's mathematical foundations and formal verification approach have established it as a leader in blockchain security and reliability. However, these same architectural choices that ensure exceptional security have created a developer experience that requires significant upfront investment in specialized knowledge, tools, and infrastructure. The result is a paradox: one of…
Input | Output co-hosts ‘Cryptographic tools for blockchains' workshop at Eurocrypt ‘25
Eurocrypt ‘25, the 44th Annual International Conference on the Theory and Applications of Cryptographic Techniques, convened in Madrid, Spain, between May 4-8, 2025. Organized by the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR), this leading cryptography conference brought together over 650 researchers and industry professionals from around the world.
1 July 2025 5 mins read
The conference featured a highly competitive selection process, with just 123 papers accepted from a total of 624 submissions. These contributions were compiled into eight volumes of Springer’s Lecture Notes in Computer Science, spanning key areas such as secure multiparty computation, public-key cryptography, advanced cryptographic protocols, zero-knowledge proofs, and applied…
Recent posts
Smart contracts on Bitcoin by Riley Kilgore
19 July 2025
A new era of smart contract verification on Cardano by Romain Soulat
17 July 2025
Cardano tokenomics: design, incentives, and stablecoins by Fergie Miller
9 July 2025