@BitlayerLabs is developing a comprehensive BTCFi ecosystem built on Bitcoin’s native security architecture. The project combines a trust-minimized BitVM Bridge, the yield-bearing YBTC asset, and a high-throughput Bitcoin Rollup to provide scalable, composable, and secure infrastructure for Bitcoin-based decentralized finance.
Market Opportunity
The rapid integration of Bitcoin into traditional finance—through institutional adoption, publicly traded company holdings, and increasing demand from BTC holders for yield generation—has created a clear gap in scalable, secure DeFi infrastructure for Bitcoin. Bitlayer aims to fill this gap with a product suite that directly addresses security, liquidity, and performance.
Core Components
BitVM Bridge – A next-generation, trust-minimized BTC bridge using challenge-based verification. One of the earliest BitVM-based solutions to reach mainnet.
Bitlayer Network – A high-performance Bitcoin Rollup designed to deliver low-cost, high-throughput transactions while maintaining Bitcoin-level security.
YBTC – A 1:1 BTC-backed asset enabling participation in DeFi, serving as gas, and offering yield opportunities.
Strategic Partnerships
Bitlayer has secured integrations with leading Layer 1 networks, including Sui, Base, Arbitrum, and Cardano, as well as partnerships with major mining pools such as Antpool, F2Pool, and SpiderPool. These collaborations expand interoperability and liquidity across ecosystems.
Funding and Investors
The company has raised $25 million in institutional funding:
Seed Round ($5M): Led by Framework Ventures and ABCDE Capital with participation from StarkWare, OKX Ventures, Alliance, Asymmetric Capital, Kenetic Capital, UXTO Management, and Messari co-founders Ryan Selkis and Dan McArdle.
Series A ($20M): Led by Polychain Capital and Franklin Templeton, with investors including SCB Limited, Stake Capital Group, GSR, Flow Traders, Metalpha, Selini Capital, Caladan, G-20 Group, Presto Labs, and FalconX.
Leadership
Charlie Yechuan Hu – Early ecosystem builder and investor in Polkadot, with business development leadership roles at Tezos and Polygon.
Kevin Changbin He – Former head of blockchain technology at Huobi Global; creator of the Huobi Heco chain, multiple EVM chains, and ZK-rollups with billions in TVL and millions of daily transactions.
Technical Highlights
Bitcoin Rollup Architecture – All state transitions are verified on Bitcoin for finality.
Sub-10 ms Execution – EVM-compatible execution engine enabling real-time applications.
Interoperability – Seamless BTC flow into DeFi via YBTC.
Upcoming Developments
Booster Campaign (Phase 2) with Binance Wallet offers participants the chance to earn BTR tokens.
Pre-TGE Event scheduled to launch soon.
Tokenomics: Maximum supply of 1 billion BTR, with no circulating supply to date; listing discussions with major exchanges are ongoing.
With a focus on security, interoperability, and institutional-grade performance, Bitlayer is positioning itself as a foundational layer for Bitcoin’s transition into a fully integrated DeFi asset class.