Bitlayer is a cutting edge layer 2 built on top of Bitcoin that brings full Ethereum style programmability to Bitcoin’s security. In other words, it lets you write and run Solidity smart contracts just like on Ethereum but secured by Bitcoin’s battle tested blockchain. It’s built on a paradigm called BitVM, which essentially turns Bitcoin into a trust-anchor and execution layer. Bitlayer’s docs emphasize “100% EVM and Ethereum toolchain compatibility,” meaning all your favorite Ethereum tools (Remix, Hardhat, Truffle, etc.) work out of the box. You can literally take an Ethereum smart contract and deploy it on Bitlayer without rewrites. At the same time, every Bitlayer transaction is ultimately settled on Bitcoin’s main chain, inheriting Bitcoin’s unrivaled security and decentralization. In short, Bitlayer gives you Bitcoin’s rock solid safety and Ethereum’s flexibility in one package.
Trustless BTC Bridge into DeFi
A killer feature of Bitlayer is the BitVM Bridge, a fully decentralized, trust minimized bridge for Bitcoin. With this bridge you can lock up real BTC and mint a 1:1 pegged token (often called YBTC) on Bitlayer or other EVM chains. Unlike other bridges that rely on centralized custodians, the BitVM Bridge runs on smart contracts (BitVM proofs), so it works without any middlemen. The mainnet launch lets anyone move BTC into DeFi safely: you send your BTC into the bridge and get YBTC on Bitlayer, use it in swaps, lending or yield farms, and later redeem it 1:1 back to real BTC. This unlocks all sorts of Bitcoin-powered DeFi while preserving trust in Bitcoin’s system.
Developer-Friendly Ecosystem
For devs, Bitlayer feels instantly familiar. The team built it to be 100% EVM compatible, so if you know Solidity and Ethereum, you already know Bitlayer. The documentation brags “your tools for building and testing smart contracts can work on Bitlayer smoothly”. There are public RPC endpoints (and you can run your own node), a testnet with faucets, and explorers like BTRScan. You can connect your wallets via Chainlist just like any Ethereum chain. They even detail setups for Hardhat, Foundry, Remix, Brownie and more, so you can deploy as usual. Currently Bitlayer supports Solidity up through version 0.8.28 (and will update over time). In practice, this means an Ethereum dApp dev can jump in without learning a new language you reuse the same code, libraries and infrastructure. All the standard Ethereum features (token standards, DeFi protocols, NFT contracts, etc.) work here too.
Lightning-Fast & Scalable
Under the hood, Bitlayer is engineered for high performance. Its architecture uses a two-tier system: a fast Proof of Stake (PoS) layer for quick block production, plus an optimistic rollup layer that anchors back to Bitcoin. This hybrid design achieves huge throughput and low fees while preserving security. In practical terms, blocks on Bitlayer confirm in sub second time and carry enough transactions to keep fees around a few cents (the site even notes median gas is only about $0.10). At launch, Bitlayer V2 offers “Bitcoin-equivalent security” every state change gets finalized on Bitcoin via fraud proofs. They also built in features like rotating block sequencers (so no single party controls it) and an “escape hatch” that lets users withdraw to Bitcoin if something goes wrong. Looking ahead, Bitlayer’s roadmap talks about a V3 with sub millisecond finality and horizontal scaling across many nodes. All together, that means you get near-instant confirmations and practically unlimited capacity, making Bitlayer a playground for high performance DeFi.
In plain terms, Bitlayer is trying to give you the best of both worlds: Bitcoin’s security and liquidity plus Ethereum’s programmability and speed. You can think of it as “Ethereum on Bitcoin” developers deploy smart contracts as usual, and Bitcoin holders can use their BTC in DeFi without leaving Bitcoin’s ecosystem. It’s an exciting bridge between the two giants of crypto. If you’ve been looking for a Bitcoin native smart contract platform with familiar tooling and serious performance, Bitlayer has all the marquee features to check out.
