What is Satoshi Plus?

Satoshi Plus is the consensus mechanism used by the Core DAO blockchain, combining elements of Bitcoin's proof-of-work with delegated proof-of-stake in a hybrid model. The protocol allows Bitcoin miners to delegate their hash power to Core validators by including specific metadata in Bitcoin block coinbase transactions, without diverting any hash power from Bitcoin mining itself. Simultaneously, CORE token holders can delegate their stake to validators. The validator set is determined by a composite score that weights both the delegated Bitcoin hash power (currently weighted at approximately one-third) and the delegated CORE stake (approximately two-thirds). Validators with the highest composite scores are elected to the active validator set, which produces blocks in a round-robin fashion.

Satoshi Plus achieves a novel security model by leveraging Bitcoin's existing proof-of-work infrastructure as a security input while also incorporating proof-of-stake economics. This means that attacking the consensus requires not only controlling a majority of delegated CORE stake but also a significant portion of Bitcoin hash power delegated to Core — an attack that would be extremely expensive. Block times are approximately 3 seconds with fast finality. The protocol uses a Turing-complete EVM-compatible execution environment, so it supports standard Solidity smart contracts. The validator set rotates at each epoch, and validators who misbehave can be slashed, losing a portion of the rewards and potentially being removed from the active set.

Satoshi Plus was launched with the Core mainnet in January 2023. Core DAO positions itself as a "Bitcoin-aligned" Layer 1 blockchain, arguing that its consensus mechanism extends Bitcoin's security model to support smart contract functionality without requiring changes to Bitcoin's protocol. The project was developed by Core DAO contributors and draws on the idea that Bitcoin's massive hash power represents an underutilized security resource that can benefit other networks. Core has attracted attention from the Bitcoin community as a way for Bitcoin miners to earn additional rewards without redirecting their mining resources from Bitcoin itself.