For a long time, the number of developers in the Bitcoin ecosystem has been far lower than that of public chains like Ethereum, with the core issue lying in the functional limitations of the Bitcoin scripting language and the lack of development toolchains. The emergence of Bitlayer is transforming Bitcoin from a 'developer no-go zone' into an 'innovation fertile ground' through technical adaptation and ecological empowerment, fundamentally reconstructing the underlying logic of the developer ecosystem.
On the technical front, Bitlayer has achieved full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), a breakthrough of milestone significance. Developers do not need to learn a brand new programming language; they can directly use Solidity to write smart contracts and then run them on the Bitcoin network through Bitlayer’s compiler — this 'zero learning cost' migration path instantly connects the developer resource pools of Ethereum and Bitcoin. Currently, Bitlayer has attracted over 3,000 Ethereum developers, including core teams that have developed leading DeFi protocols. They bring not only coding experience but also mature product thinking and user operation logic.
The improvement of the toolchain further lowers the development threshold. Bitlayer has launched a dedicated development suite called 'BitDev Kit', which includes a smart contract template library, automated testing tools, and an on-chain debugging platform: the template library covers basic code for mainstream scenarios such as DeFi and NFTs that developers can directly reuse; the testing tools support simulating interaction environments between the Bitcoin main chain and Layer 2, avoiding high testing costs on the main chain that hinder iteration; the debugging platform can track contract execution trajectories in real-time, addressing the pain point of 'black-box development' on the Bitcoin network. Data shows that DApps developed using these tools have reduced the launch cycle from the traditional 3 months to 2 weeks, improving efficiency by nearly 80%.
The ecological incentive system further provides developers with a continuous motivation for innovation. Bitlayer has established a $100 million 'Developer Fund' to reward teams that deploy quality applications with BTR token rewards — DeFi protocols distribute rewards in stages based on the amount locked, NFT platforms assess based on user activity, and charitable applications can apply for special subsidies. More importantly, its 'revenue-sharing' mechanism allows developers to take 5%-10% from the Gas fees generated by applications as ongoing revenue, forming a positive cycle of 'development equals profit'. Currently, over 500 DApps have been deployed in the ecosystem, with 20 projects supported by the fund achieving over 10,000 users, and the developer retention rate stable at above 65%, far exceeding the industry average.
The value of this ecological reconstruction has begun to manifest: the Bitcoin lending protocol 'BitLend' based on Bitlayer has surpassed $200 million in locked value within 3 months, with an APR stable at 8%-12%; the cross-chain NFT platform 'BitArt' has facilitated over 100,000 cross-chain transactions between Bitcoin and Ethereum NFTs. As the Bitcoin ecosystem is able to easily support complex applications and developers can realize innovative ideas at a low threshold, the underlying soil of this 'digital gold' is sprouting unprecedented vitality.
