Bitlayer

Bitlayer addresses Bitcoin's limitations by introducing scalability, programmability, and interoperability. It is used for:

• Bitcoin Scaling: Bitlayer increases transaction capacity and reduces costs through rollup technology, enabling thousands of transactions per second.
• Smart Contract Deployment: Developers can use Bitlayer’s EVM compatibility to deploy Turing-complete smart contracts and dApps on Bitcoin, unlocking use cases such as DeFi, NFT platforms, and decentralized gaming.
• Cross-Chain Interoperability: Bitlayer’s Finality Bridge facilitates seamless, trust-minimized BTC transfers between Bitcoin and other blockchains.
• Cost-Efficient Transactions: The use of BTC as the native gas token (with 18 decimals for EVM compatibility) ensures efficient and affordable transaction fees.
• Developer Tools: Developers can build using Solidity, migrate applications from Ethereum, and benefit from comprehensive tooling, such as JSON-RPC and Bitlayer’s dedicated infrastructure.
• Support for Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi): With enhanced scalability and programmability, Bitlayer creates new opportunities for decentralized finance on Bitcoin, leveraging its trust-minimized bridges and secure architecture to power applications such as lending, staking, and synthetic assets.

The Finality Bridge is a key feature of Bitlayer, enabling seamless, trust-minimized cross-chain interoperability. It facilitates the secure transfer of BTC assets between Bitcoin’s base layer and the Bitlayer ecosystem. The bridge’s design includes:

• Peg-In Process: Users transfer BTC to a multisignature address managed by Bitlayer’s infrastructure. This triggers the minting of an equivalent amount of wrapped BTC (YBTC) on Bitlayer.
• Peg-Out Process: Users burn YBTC on Bitlayer to initiate a withdrawal, where liquidity providers deliver BTC on Bitcoin Layer 1. Fraud-proof mechanisms ensure security throughout the process.
• Trust-Minimized Security: The Finality Bridge leverages technologies such as BitVM and optimistic fraud proofs to maintain decentralization while safeguarding asset transfers.

This bridge enables new use cases for Bitcoin DeFi by unlocking interoperability and liquidity across multiple blockchain ecosystems.

1. Mainnet-V1 (Launched in April 2024):

• Implementation of Proof-of-Stake consensus combined with multisignature technology.
• Support for cross-chain asset transfers between Bitcoin, EVM chains, and other networks.
• Deployment of EVM-compatible tools to onboard developers.

2. Mainnet-V2 (Planned for Q1/Q2 2025):

• Transition to a native Bitcoin rollup architecture based on BitVM, achieving Bitcoin-equivalent security.
• Introduction of the Finality Bridge for trust-minimized BTC transfers.
• Seamless migration from PoS to rollup architecture for dApps and developers.

3. Mainnet-V3 (Planned for Q4 2025):

• Focus on ultra-high throughput (up to 20,000 TPS) and faster transaction confirmations (3 seconds).
• Enhancements to scalability and performance for enterprise-grade applications.

Bitlayer was founded by Charlie Hu and Kevin He, two blockchain engineers with extensive experience in developing scalable blockchain infrastructure. - Charlie Hu: A seasoned crypto entrepreneur with a track record in ecosystem growth and infrastructure development, Charlie has been instrumental in promoting blockchain adoption across global markets.

• Kevin He: A technical expert in cryptographic systems, Kevin specializes in developing blockchain consensus mechanisms and Layer 2 solutions, bringing deep technical expertise to Bitlayer’s design.

The project is developed under Bitlayer Labs, which secured $5 million in seed funding led by Framework Ventures and ABCDE Capital. The funding round included participation from major players in the blockchain space, such as StarkWare, OKX Ventures, and Alliance DAO, as well as prominent angel investors, including Ryan Selkis (CEO of Messari), Dan Held (Bitcoin educator), and Loi Luu (Kyber Network founder).

The founding team and contributors bring experience from leading blockchain projects, including Huobi, Polygon, and Polkadot, aiming to expand Bitcoin’s ecosystem with scalable and programmable capabilities.