Designed to enhance its scalability and enable decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities. Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Singapore, Bitlayer leverages the Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BitVM) to introduce smart contract functionality to Bitcoin without altering its consensus rules .
🔧 Core Components
BitVM Bridge: A trust-minimized mechanism that locks Bitcoin on the base layer and issues a pegged token, YBTC, on the Bitlayer network. This bridge ensures that Bitcoin holders can engage in DeFi activities while maintaining the security of the original asset .
Bitlayer Rollup: An Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible rollup that processes transactions off-chain and settles them on Bitcoin, providing fast and low-cost smart contract execution .
Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Proofs: Utilized to enhance privacy and scalability, allowing for efficient validation of transactions and computations without revealing sensitive data .
🌐 Ecosystem and Adoption
Bitlayer has integrated with multiple blockchain ecosystems, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Starknet, through its BitVM Bridge. These integrations enable Bitcoin to participate in DeFi applications across various platforms, unlocking new opportunities for liquidity and yield generation .
📈 Token and Community
The native utility token, $BTR, is used for governance and incentivizing participation within the Bitlayer ecosystem. With over $550 million in total value locked and support for approximately 300 live Bitcoin projects, Bitlayer is rapidly expanding its presence in the DeFi space .
For more information, visit the Bitlayer website or explore the BitVM Bridge.
