Bitcoin sidechain instead of bitBTC ?

[JonnyB]

I'm not smart enough to understand how it it works I just understand the concept, but they have a whitepaper explaining the technicals on their website

https://blockstream.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/sidechains.pdf

[xeroc]

How are the locking up BTC in a "contract" that is NOT owned by a set of individual in a multisig account?!?!

[TravelsAsia]

In my thread, "Locking up Bitcoin for BitUSD", maybe a sidechain is the answer to that problem as well.  Bringing Bitcoin into our system would provide something that BTC holders could support. If there's ever something to put money towards in development, it's something like the OP suggests.

[JonnyB]

The concept of sidechains is one where real BTC gets locked up in another blockchain contract and a token is issued in its place which can be redeemed at any time without human involvement.
So it is essentially a bitcoin IOU but from a decentralised smart contract instead of a company or person.

The guys at blockstream claim they have got sidechains working in a first version that they call liquid and say companies like bitstamp and bitfinex are using it.

If they really have made a working sidechain for bitcoin can't this be integrated into bitshares to replace BITBTC?