Taproot

Taproot is a major upgrade to the Bitcoin protocol that enhances privacy, scalability, and security. Activated in November 2021, Taproot introduced Schnorr signatures, which allow multiple signatures to be aggregated into a single one, reducing the amount of data needed for each transaction. Taproot also makes complex Bitcoin transactions, such as multi-signature or time-locked contracts, appear the same as regular transactions, improving privacy. This upgrade allows Bitcoin to be more efficient in terms of space and bandwidth usage, enabling more transactions per block and reducing fees. Example: Taproot enables a Lightning Network channel opening transaction to look the same as a regular Bitcoin transaction, enhancing privacy for users.