Building a BTC dApp from NEAR, two architecture approaches compared
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?