Building the Bridge: BTC on NEAR
As part of a cross-chain infrastructure lab, I was thrilled when our team partnered with Solv to bring BTC+ into the NEAR Protocol. I spent weeks engineering the bridge so every Bitcoin on the mainnet could be mirrored 1:1 as “SolvBTC” on NEAR, fully collateralized. Unlike typical wrapped BTC, SolvBTC uses a dual-architecture model that ensures each token is transparently backed.
On NEAR, we launched vaults that let users swap BTC for SolvBTC and then lock it to earn yield as “xSolvBTC.” When I deposit BTC+, the system automatically mints SolvBTC on NEAR and diversifies it into multiple yield streams across DeFi and CeFi. Returns come from sources like NEAR staking rewards, liquidity incentives, and even tokenized real-world assets through cross-chain connections. Our in-house oracles constantly track NAV, so the vault always reflects the exact value of the BTC.
This project showed me just how composable BTC+ really is. Thanks to NEAR’s DeFi stack, Bitcoin holders can finally use smart contracts while preserving Bitcoin’s security. Today, 19,000 BTC (\~\$2.2B) in Solv’s reserves can power NEAR’s growing ecosystem, creating more opportunities for developers and users alike.
It’s been rewarding to help build infrastructure where I can move Bitcoin into NEAR, activate BTC+, and see it generate yield like a stablecoin—without compromising decentralization. The tech is robust, trustless, and already a hit with users who want yield on Bitcoin in a truly decentralized way.