As the popularity of the BTCFi concept rises, Echo Protocol, as one of the few protocols in the Aptos ecosystem focused on BTC asset liquidity and re-staking mechanisms, has attracted considerable attention. The project is set to complete the TGE and airdrop $ECHO tokens soon, becoming one of the key BTCFi projects to watch in this market round.
I. Project Overview
Echo Protocol is an infrastructure protocol for BTCFi deployed on the Aptos blockchain, with the core goal of enhancing on-chain liquidity and financial composability of BTC through bridging, standardization, and re-staking methods. Users can deposit BTC into the Vault to obtain aBTC and then participate in lending, staking, and other yield strategies, with an annualized yield reportedly reaching 30%. The protocol has now entered the eve of TGE and has announced a token issuance plan, including an airdrop mechanism.
II. Product Mechanism and Technical Architecture
Echo Protocol uses a three-layer architecture design:
(1) BTC Standard Layer: After users deposit BTC, aBTC is generated, solving liquidity and standard compatibility issues of native BTC in DeFi usage.
(2) Yield Strategy Layer: aBTC can participate in various yield strategies, such as re-staking, lending, etc., creating application scenarios for 'earning passively' with BTC.
(3) LST Liquidity Staking Layer: Further designs BTC LST products around the use of aBTC, achieving asset re-release and leverage expansion.
The protocol operates on the Aptos chain supported by Move VM, featuring low latency, high throughput, and relatively low gas costs, suitable for BTC heavy asset scenarios. Compared to traditional Ethereum-based BTCFi products, Echo places greater emphasis on the improvement of strategy execution efficiency and user experience through the performance of the chain itself.
III. Track Positioning: BTCFi + Aptos Ecosystem
The main narrative of Echo Protocol lies in BTCFi, which aims to introduce Bitcoin into DeFi financial logic, while incorporating popular concepts like Restaking and liquidity staking, extending the yield attributes of BTC assets. Unlike BTCFi projects like Babylon and BounceBit that are strongly coupled with the ETH ecosystem, Echo is one of the few BTCFi projects built on Aptos, seizing the window of opportunity as the Aptos ecosystem is still in its early stages and top projects are scarce.
From the perspective of track opportunities, BTCFi is both a path for the 'activation' of BTC and an entry point for differentiated competition in Layer 1 ecosystems, with Echo being the native project at this intersection.
IV. Community Heat and Data Performance
As of the end of June 2025, the official Echo Twitter account (@EchoProtocol_) has over 140,000 followers, with a 24-hour growth of over 500+, and a recent daily posting volume of around 6 posts, maintaining high activity. The Telegram community has over 20,000 members, with an average of more than 20 messages per day, indicating high activity.
According to CertiK Skynet data, its community trust score is 93.87, which is at a relatively high level; at the same time, the project has also formed deep ties with Aptos communities like MovemakerCN and frequently holds AMAs to enhance brand recognition.
V. Token Model and Airdrop Mechanism
The native token of the Echo Protocol is $ECHO, expected to complete the Token Generation Event (TGE) in early Q3 2025. The token mechanism design is as follows:
Echo Points Incentive System: As a core user incentive method before the airdrop, points can be accumulated through participation in the protocol, community tasks, etc.;
Airdrop Ratio: 15% of the total supply is allocated for airdrops, with the first round expected to release 8% to 10%;
Dual Lock-up Mechanism:
$twECHO: Obtained by locking up $ECHO, allowing participation in revenue sharing and mining weighting;
$vetwECHO: Obtained by further locking up $twECHO, which carries governance rights;
Token Unlocking Period: The official statement may indicate a linear release over 3 months, details are yet to be disclosed.
The overall token model leans towards long-term ecological incentives and liquidity guidance, with relatively light short-term release pressure.
VI. Potential Prospects and Risk Assessment
Echo Protocol is expected to become a dark horse in the BTCFi concept. On one hand, the long-standing 'incompatibility' of BTC assets has restricted their financialization process, while Echo provides a complete set of standardization and re-staking tools for BTC; on the other hand, the Aptos ecosystem is in its early growth phase, and high-quality infrastructure projects are extremely scarce, giving Echo's BTCFi positioning the potential to break out.
However, attention should also be paid to the following risks:
Intensifying Market Competition: BTCFi has become an emerging hot track, with players like BounceBit, Bitlayer, and Babylon frequently making moves; Echo needs to quickly implement its core functions to avoid marginalization;
TGE Uncertainty: The current TGE timing and specific rules have not been fully disclosed, users should participate with caution;
Ecosystem Construction Progress: The core strategies of the protocol are still in the warming-up phase, and the actual application scenarios of aBTC need to be observed.
Conclusion
Echo Protocol is one of the most imaginative projects at the intersection of the current BTCFi and Aptos narratives. It reshapes BTC liquidity and yield models through a three-layer architecture, combining technical support from the high-performance Move ecosystem, opening up richer DeFi use cases for Bitcoin assets. With the TGE approaching, the airdrop mechanism clarified, and community activity continuously rising, it is worth investors' ongoing attention to its implementation and subsequent token design trends.