BSV Standards & Protocols Reference
Comprehensive index of BSV blockchain standards, protocols, and specifications.
Quick Reference
| Category | Standards | Description |
|---|---|---|
| BRCs | BRC-1 to BRC-100+ | Official BSV Request for Comments |
| BitCom | AIP, MAP, B, BAP, SIGMA | Data protocols using Bitcoin addresses as prefixes |
| Tokens | BSV-20, BSV-21, STAS | Fungible token standards |
| Ordinals | 1Sat Ordinals | NFT inscriptions on BSV |
| Identity | Paymail, BAP | Identity and addressing standards |
| Off-Chain | bitcoin-auth, bitcoin-backup, bitcoin-image | Authentication, backup, URL standards |
| Data Schema | Bitcoin Schema, Ord Schema | Standardized on-chain data structures |
Official BRC Standards
Reference: https://bsv.brc.dev/ -- 100+ standards across 12 categories.
For the complete index of every BRC, consult references/brc-index.md.
Key Categories
| Category | Key BRCs | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wallet | BRC-1 to BRC-7, BRC-46, BRC-50, BRC-53, BRC-56, BRC-65, BRC-66, BRC-73, BRC-97-100, BRC-109, BRC-111-112 | Wallet-to-app interface, transaction creation, encryption, baskets, labels, certificates |
| Transactions | BRC-8, BRC-9, BRC-10-13, BRC-30, BRC-58, BRC-61, BRC-62, BRC-67, BRC-71, BRC-74, BRC-76, BRC-83, BRC-95-96 | TX formats (BEEF, EF, Raw), Merkle proofs (CMP, BUMP, JSON, Binary), SPV |
| Scripts | BRC-14-19, BRC-21, BRC-47, BRC-48, BRC-106 | P2PKH, R-Puzzle, Push Drop, Push TX, Multi-Sig, Script formats |
| Key Derivation | BRC-32, BRC-42-44, BRC-69, BRC-72, BRC-75, BRC-84, BRC-86, BRC-93-94 | BIP32, Type42/BKDS, protocol IDs, key linkage, mnemonics, Schnorr |
| Payments | BRC-27-29, BRC-41, BRC-54-55, BRC-70, BRC-105 | DPP, Paymail, PacketPay, service monetization |
| Overlays | BRC-22-26, BRC-64, BRC-81, BRC-87-88, BRC-101 | Overlay sync, CHIP, CLAP, lookup, SHIP/SLAP |
| Peer-to-Peer | BRC-31, BRC-33-34, BRC-52, BRC-63, BRC-68, BRC-77-78, BRC-82, BRC-85, BRC-103-104 | Authrite, PeerServ, identity certificates, PIKE, message signing |
| Tokens | BRC-45, BRC-79, BRC-92, BRC-107-108, BRC-113 | UTXO tokens, Mandala, identity-linked tokens |
| Outpoints | BRC-36-37 | Outpoint format, spending instructions |
| Opinions | BRC-49, BRC-51, BRC-57, BRC-59, BRC-80, BRC-89-91, BRC-110 | UX guidance, scalability, Web 3.0 vision |
| State Machines | BRC-60 | Event chains in Bitcoin |
| Apps | BRC-102 | deployment-info.json spec |
BitCom Protocols
Data protocols using Bitcoin addresses as OP_RETURN prefixes.
AIP (Author Identity Protocol)
Prefix: 15PciHG22SNLQJXMoSUaWVi7WSqc7hCfva
Signs content with Bitcoin addresses for verifiable authorship. Similar to Sigma protocol but does not require inputs.
OP_RETURN | <data> | AIP_PREFIX | "BITCOIN_ECDSA" | <address> | <signature>
Use cases: Content authentication, author verification
MAP (Magic Attribute Protocol)
Prefix: 1PuQa7K62MiKCtssSLKy1kh56WWU7MtUR5
Key-value metadata storage on-chain.
OP_RETURN | MAP_PREFIX | "SET" | "key1" | "value1" | "key2" | "value2"
Commands: SET, DEL, ADD, SELECT
Use cases: Metadata, tags, attributes, social data
B (Binary) Protocol
Prefix: 19HxigV4QyBv3tHpQVcUEQyq1pzZVdoAut
Arbitrary file storage on-chain.
OP_RETURN | B_PREFIX | <data> | <media-type> | <encoding> | [filename]
Use cases: Images, documents, any binary data
BAP (Bitcoin Attestation Protocol)
Prefix: 1BAPSuaPnfGnSBM3GLV9yhxUdYe4vGbdMT
Identity attestation and management.
OP_RETURN | BAP_PREFIX | "ID" | <identity-key> | <address> | [attributes]
Use cases: Identity creation, attestations, key rotation
SIGMA
Prefix: SIGMA
Transaction-bound signatures for OP_RETURN data.
OP_RETURN | <data> | SIGMA | <algorithm> | <address> | <signature> | <vin>
Algorithms: BSM (Bitcoin Signed Message), BRC-77 (SignedMessage)
Use cases: Multi-party signing, transaction authentication
Token Standards
BSV-20
Fungible tokens using inscription format.
{"p":"bsv-20","op":"deploy","tick":"TOKEN","max":"21000000","lim":"1000"}
{"p":"bsv-20","op":"mint","tick":"TOKEN","amt":"1000"}
{"p":"bsv-20","op":"transfer","tick":"TOKEN","amt":"100"}
Operations: deploy, mint, transfer, burn
BSV-21
Enhanced fungible tokens with contract control.
Features: Programmable supply, transfer rules, metadata
STAS (Simplified Token And Smart Contracts)
Native token protocol using Bitcoin script-level enforcement.
Website: https://www.stastoken.com/ Documentation: https://docs.stastoken.com/
Features:
- Script-enforced token transfers (no indexer required for validation)
- Fungible and non-fungible token support
- Atomic swaps and contract capabilities
- Native Bitcoin script validation
Run (Defunct)
Early BSV token protocol (runonbitcoin.com - no longer operational).
Status: Abandoned protocol from early BSV days. Stored data on-chain using B protocol, so historical artifacts remain accessible via ORDFS (ordfs.network).
Ordinals (1Sat Ordinals)
NFT inscriptions using ordinal theory on BSV.
Inscription Format
OP_0 OP_IF "ord" OP_1 <content-type> OP_0 <content> OP_ENDIF
Key Concepts
- Inscription: Data embedded in transaction scripts
- Ordinal ID:
<txid>_<vout>unique identifier - Collections: Grouped inscriptions with parent reference
Marketplace: https://ordinals.gorillapool.io
Identity Standards
Paymail
Human-readable payment addressing (BRC-29).
Format: user@domain.com
Capabilities:
pki- Public key infrastructurepaymentDestination- Get payment addressp2p-payment-destination- Peer-to-peer paymentsreceive-transaction- Direct transaction delivery
BAP Identity
On-chain identity management.
Components:
- Root address (identity anchor)
- Identity key (deterministic ID)
- Attestations (claims about identity)
- Key rotation (address transitions)
Off-Chain Standards
bitcoin-auth
HTTP authentication using Bitcoin private keys.
Token Format: pubkey|scheme|timestamp|requestPath|signature
Schemes: brc77 (recommended), bsm
bitcoin-backup
Encrypted backup file standard (.bep files).
Encryption: AES-256-GCM, PBKDF2-SHA256 (600k iterations)
Types: BapMasterBackup, BapMemberBackup, WifBackup, OneSatBackup, VaultBackup
bitcoin-image
On-chain image reference normalization.
Protocols: b://, ord://, bitfs://, ipfs://, data:, native txid
Outpoint Formats: txid_vout, txid.vout, txido0, /content/txid_vout
Data Schema Standards
Bitcoin Schema
Website: https://bitcoinschema.org
Standardized data structures for on-chain data built on MAP and B protocols.
Types: Post, Like, Follow, Reply, Repost, Friend, Message, Payment, Ordinal
Ord Schema Type
Docs: https://docs.1satordinals.com/adding-metadata/ord-schema-type
Base metadata schema for ordinals inscriptions.
Required: app, type ("ord"), name
Optional: subType, subTypeData, royalties, previewUrl
Related Packages
| Package | Purpose |
|---|---|
@bsv/sdk |
Core BSV functionality |
@b-open-io/templates |
Script template implementations (replaces bmapjs) |
js-1sat-ord |
Ordinals/inscriptions (migrating to @1sat/sdk - in progress) |
bsv-bap |
BAP identity management |
sigma-protocol |
SIGMA signing |
bitcoin-auth |
HTTP authentication |
bitcoin-backup |
Encrypted backup files |
bitcoin-image |
URL normalization |
Deprecated: bmapjs - replaced by @b-open-io/templates
Additional Resources
Reference Files
references/brc-index.md- Complete BRC specification indexreferences/bitcom-protocols.md- Detailed BitCom protocol specsreferences/token-standards.md- BSV-20/BSV-21/1Sat Ordinals detailsreferences/implementations.md- Local repo implementations and packagesreferences/offchain-standards.md- Off-chain standards (auth, backup, image)
External Links
- BRC Standards: https://bsv.brc.dev/
- Bitcoin Schema: https://bitcoinschema.org
- 1Sat Ordinals Docs: https://docs.1satordinals.com/
- ORDFS Gateway: https://ordfs.network
- @b-open-io/templates: https://github.com/b-open-io/ts-templates
- sigma-protocol: https://github.com/BitcoinSchema/sigma
- js-1sat-ord: https://github.com/BitcoinSchema/js-1sat-ord
- bsv-bap: https://github.com/BitcoinSchema/bap
- bitcoin-auth: https://github.com/b-open-io/bitcoin-auth
- STAS Token: https://docs.stastoken.com/
- bitcoin-backup: https://github.com/b-open-io/bitcoin-backup
- bitcoin-image: https://github.com/b-open-io/bitcoin-image
- Paymail: https://bsvalias.org/