A successful blockchain ecosystem not only needs a solid technological foundation but also requires a sophisticated economic model to incentivize participation, coordinate interests, and capture value. It is like a living organism, where technology serves as its skeleton, and the economic model is its blood circulation and metabolism system. The designers of Bitlayer understand this deeply and have not adopted a simple model of a single token but have built a 'dual helix' structure composed of two core tokens, YBTC and BTR. These two tokens play distinctly different but interdependent roles, together forming the economic engine that drives the long-term, healthy development of the Bitlayer ecosystem.
YBTC: The blood of flowing value
YBTC is the 'blood' of the Bitlayer ecosystem, the main carrier of value flowing within the system. Its essence is the 1:1 'trust-minimized' anchored asset of Bitcoin (BTC) on Bitlayer. Understanding YBTC requires grasping its three core features:
Solid value anchoring: Behind every YBTC, there is a real BTC locked in a BitVM smart contract secured by the Bitcoin mainnet. It does not rely on a single centralized custodian like WBTC, nor does it have the decoupling risk like some algorithmic stablecoins. The value of YBTC directly stems from Bitcoin itself, making it the most hardcore and trustworthy collateral and value medium in Bitlayer and even in the future multi-chain DeFi world.
Ultimate liquidity: The design goal of YBTC is to make dormant Bitcoins 'come alive.' It can flow freely within DEXs, lending protocols, and derivatives markets inside the Bitlayer ecosystem. More importantly, through integration with mainstream public chains like Sui, Base, and Arbitrum, YBTC will become the key conduit for Bitcoin liquidity to safely and efficiently 'spill over' into the entire crypto world. It will be the 'golden ticket' for Bitcoin holders to participate in multi-chain ecosystem yield opportunities without having to sell their core assets.
Functional value unit: Within the Bitlayer ecosystem, YBTC will play the role of a 'standard currency.' Whether for calculating gas fees, paying transaction fees, or serving as the core pricing unit and collateral in DeFi protocols, YBTC will be the first choice. This further solidifies its status as the 'universal currency' of the ecosystem.
It can be said that YBTC is the 'product' of Bitlayer aimed at users and applications, and its scale and breadth of use directly reflect the prosperity of the ecosystem.
BTR: The governance bone that supports the ecosystem
If YBTC is the flowing blood, then BTR is the 'skeleton' and 'nerve center' that supports the entire ecosystem. BTR is a native functional token (Utility Token) whose value does not come from pegging to any external asset, but from the core functions it is assigned within the Bitlayer ecosystem.
Decentralized governance: BTR is the only credential for participating in Bitlayer protocol governance. Users holding BTR will be able to vote on major decisions of the protocol, such as adjusting protocol parameters, deciding on fee distribution, approving the use of the ecosystem fund (Treasury), electing members of the security committee, etc. This ensures that the future development of Bitlayer can be truly determined by its community and stakeholders, rather than being controlled by a small group of developers or investors.
Network security and incentives (Staking & Incentives): As the network develops, BTR will be assigned deeper security functions. For example, sequencers or validator nodes in the second-layer network may need to stake BTR to participate in network operations and transaction packaging. This design directly binds the value of BTR to the healthy operation of the network, and malicious behavior will result in the confiscation of the staked BTR. At the same time, stakers will also share a portion of the transaction fees generated by the network, thus forming a positive incentive cycle.
Value capture mechanism: A healthy economic model must allow the success of the protocol to reflect in the value of the native token. The design of BTR incorporates multiple value capture mechanisms. The most direct way is that a portion of the transaction fees generated by the Bitlayer network will be used to reward BTR stakers, while another portion may be used to periodically buy back and burn BTR from the market. This 'deflationary' mechanism makes the total supply of BTR inversely correlated with the intensity of network usage; the more prosperous the network, the scarcer BTR becomes, thus bringing long-term value growth to its holders.
The dual helix of symbiosis and evolution
The relationship between YBTC and BTR is a typical symbiotic relationship between 'application' and 'equity':
The extensive application and immense liquidity of YBTC will make the Bitlayer network extremely active, resulting in a large amount of transaction fees.
These fees continuously capture value for the BTR token through staking rewards and buyback and burn mechanisms.
A BTR that grows steadily in value will attract more long-termists to participate in governance and staking, thus making the network safer and governance more refined.
A safer and more powerful Bitlayer will attract more and larger-scale BTC holders to convert their assets into YBTC and participate in the ecosystem.
This is the dual helix of value: YBTC is responsible for outward expansion, extending the boundaries and scale of the ecosystem; BTR is responsible for inward aggregation, solidifying the value and consensus of the ecosystem. This ingenious closed-loop design ensures that Bitlayer, in its future development, has both strong external attractiveness and solid internal cohesion, thus possessing the most lasting endurance in the long Bitcoin L2 marathon.
