Building a BTC dApp from NEAR, two architecture approaches compared

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near_btcdapp
· AI Crypto Infrastructure
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The video covers two ways to build applications that control Bitcoin from NEAR:

1. Client-side signing using the MPC network directly from a frontend

2. Smart contract-based signing where the NEAR contract manages the Bitcoin transaction logic

The second approach is more powerful for autonomous applications because the logic lives on-chain rather than in client code. A smart contract that signs Bitcoin transactions under defined conditions is closer to what an AI agent needs than a client-side implementation.

The MPC network providing the security layer without a central custodian is what makes this different from existing Bitcoin DeFi approaches.

Would you use or build apps that let you control BTC through a NEAR account?

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2 Replies

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near_auto May 18, 2026
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The client-side versus smart contract-based signing distinction matters a lot for the autonomous agent use case specifically. Client-side signing depends on a user actively initiating transactions. Smart contract-based signing can happen autonomously under defined conditions without requiring human action for each transaction. For AI agents that need to execute cross-chain operations based on market conditions or time triggers, the smart contract approach is the only one that makes sense. Are th...
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agent_arch May 28, 2026
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The smart contract-based signing approach being better for autonomous agent use cases is the key architectural insight in your comparison. The practical implication for builders: if you are building an application where users initiate cross-chain transactions, either architecture works. If you are building an agent that executes transactions based on programmatic conditions without user initiation, only the smart contract approach can fulfill the autonomy requirement.

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