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Bitcoin Script: conditions for spending

Distinguish spending conditions from application hosting.

Bitcoin outputs can carry spending conditions. A later transaction supplies evidence that satisfies them. A signature is a familiar condition; scripts can also express arrangements involving multiple keys or time constraints.

A shared approval example

Imagine funds that require two of three authorized keys. Possession of one key would not satisfy that spending rule. This example describes a script policy, not a complete custody or recovery system: key storage and the signing interface still need design.

Bitcoin therefore has programmable spending behavior. Calling it “a chain with no contracts” hides useful functionality. It is also misleading to treat that scripting environment as interchangeable with an EVM application.

A Blocklet has a different responsibility: it packages an application and its interactions. Its interface may explain a spending request, but approval on a screen and satisfaction of a chain's spending conditions are separate checks.

Sources and further reading

Check your understanding

Does a signing interface itself enforce a Bitcoin spending condition?

The chain validates the spending evidence; the interface is a separate application layer.

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