2024 Q3 Update: What Have We Been Up To?

By thunderbiscuit on 11/8/2024 - Tags: BDK, Project

The bitcoindevkit team has been hard at work for Q3 in 2024, polishing the API of our bdk_wallet crate and releasing 4 new beta versions (1, 2, 3, and 4!), and aiming to release a final 1.0 release by the end of 2024. Here are some of the notable changes and upgrades to the software libraries we maintain:

  • RBF by default on TxBuilder. The transaction builder in BDK will now signal RBF by default.
  • New wallet builder API. The new wallet builder offers flexibility and ease-of-development for future features. We've also been listening to user feedback, and brought back support for single-descriptor wallets.
  • MVP of the Book of BDK. We are working on a high-level documentation website for BDK libraries called the Book of BDK. The MVP website is live at bookofbdk.com (opens new window).
  • Bug chasing and optimizations. As feedback from early testers comes in, we are keeping a close eye on reported bugs and questions, and have been fixing a ton of smaller but very important snags!
  • Development of a CBF client crate and related bindings. Work is ongoing on a crate to allow BDK users to interoperate with a new CBF library called Kyoto (opens new window). Work has been done to integrate this with the language bindings for mobile users, and the preliminary integrations have been very positive.

The language bindings for iOS, Android, and Python have also seen some new beta releases and a ton of new features, in preparation for the 1.0 final release.

  • Exposing a much larger number of Wallet APIs. The Wallet type in the language bindings now exposes most of what users will need for a 1.0 release.
  • Rework of the Kotlin and Swift build systems. We have migrated the build workflows for bdk-jvm and bdk-android from Gradle scripts to shell scripts, making them easier to parse and consume for contributors and other libraries wanting to leverage our approach to bindings. We have also made it much easier to build the Swift package for iOS users.
  • Testing of Compact Block Filters for both Android and iOS. Both our wallet examples have full examples of using the new Kyoto (opens new window) client on mobile phones. Once the PR for the new client lands, users will have access to clear examples on how to leverage the new client!
  • Building bitcoin-ffi. The team has been working on a crate called bitcoin-ffi (opens new window), migrating the types we exposed from rust-bitcoin into a standalone crate that other projects building on uniffi can use. We have been stress-testing this in production and are finding new ways to leverage this approach.

# Our Grantees in Action

Full-time grants changes:

  • Our lead Rust developer Evan is moving to a part-time grant while he goes and works for a company that leverages BDK! In addition to our full-time grantees, the BDK Foundation (opens new window) provides part-time grants to folks on special projects. Q3 is funding 2 projects in particular:
  • Leonardo. Leo's been working on our integration of the Tor Rust client into the Electrum and Esplora crates.
  • Rob. Rob is the brain behind the Kyoto client, its BDK integration with bdk_kyoto, and the PR to wrap it all up into our language bindings!
  • Wei Chen. Wei (opens new window) is continuing his work on the lower-level BDK crates bdk_chain and bdk_core, as well as his work on the Electrum client.

We've also been active at conferences!

# BDK in the Wild

In Q3, a number of new projects have started using BDK:

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Last Updated: 12/19/2024, 6:43:01 PM