“Bitcoin Has Value. BTCFi Gives It Velocity.”
– Intern
Bitcoin’s market cap is north of $2.1 trillion. Its holders are loyal, and its security model is battle-tested. Yet the average Bitcoin just sits.
68% of BTC hasn’t moved in over a year.
That’s capital locked in time.
Meanwhile, DeFi ecosystems built around other assets, especially Ethereum, have evolved into multi-billion-dollar playgrounds of liquidity. But not Bitcoin.
Why?
Bitcoin lacks a native financial stack.
And every workaround we’ve seen so far, be it wrapped assets, alt-L1s, or bridges, has only deepened the fragmentation.
This Bootcamp series examines the fractured state of BTCFi infrastructure and outlines what a coherent, native-first stack could look like when built from the ground up.
The Current BTCFi Landscape: A Stacked Mess
Let’s start with what currently exists. BTCfi’s infrastructure today is best viewed as a stack.
Let’s be clear: these solutions were meaningful first steps. wBTC alone accounts for over $13.96B in TVL. But that number has stagnated, with little traction beyond a handful of apps. Wrapped BTC is still custodied by BitGo, a single point of trust.
Stacks? Rootstock? Despite years of effort, their ecosystem adoption remains thin, to the tune of 0.5% of all Bitcoin is engaged via these networks.
The stack exists. But it’s not composable. It’s not cohesive.
It’s not Bitcoin-native.
What the BTCFi Stack Should Look Like
Instead of duct-taping parts from other chains, the BTCFi stack must align with Bitcoin’s core properties, such as simplicity, self-custody, and auditability, as it unlocks programmable utility.
Layer 1: Native Bitcoin
Not a wrapped token.
Real BTC, secured by the Bitcoin network.
Held in self-custodial wallets or decentralised vaults.
Layer 2: Optimised Execution Environment
Appchains or zones purpose-built for BTCFi logic.
Low-fee, high-speed, and interoperable, without compromising Bitcoin’s sovereignty.
Layer 3: Intent-Centric Routing
Let users define what they want (swap, stake, LP).
The system handles how it happens across pools, routes, and assets.
Layer 4: Composable App Layer
DeFi applications with unified standards.
Interoperable with each other. Powered by native BTC, not bridged abstractions.
This isn’t just a cleaner design, but it’s safer. It removes trusted intermediaries, reduces user overhead, and allows liquidity to build around Bitcoin, not away from it.
Intent-Based Infra Is Not Optional
One of the core reasons BTCFi feels disjointed is user friction.
Most DeFi today assumes the user knows how to bridge, route, and stake. That’s not how Bitcoin works.
Here’s where intent-based architecture changes the game:
Instead of forcing users to interact with fragmented protocols, users simply express their goal.
The system resolves the optimal path across DEXs, vaults, or staking pools without exposing the user to complexity.
> Think: “Stake my BTC” → one click → the best route is automatically executed.
This is the logic powering modern infra on Ethereum (e.g., CowSwap, Anoma, UniswapX), but BTCFi hasn’t adopted it.
Until..
Building a BTC Cross-Chain Swapping Solution
The goal isn’t to attract BTC. It’s to build for it, from first principles. This approach doesn’t aim to crown one BTC standard over another.
It focuses on resolving user intents, whether using native BTC, WBTC, or any variant.
1. Intent-Based Execution
Users declare what they want (swap WBTC for stBTC, stake native BTC).
Routing, conversion, and execution are handled across chains or asset types.
No need to manage where liquidity sits, the system does it.
2. BTC-Agnostic Liquidity Support
Whether wrapped, bridged, or native, the system routes to the most efficient variant for the job.
It abstracts asset fragmentation without forcing trust in a single format.
3. Composable Product Ecosystem
Liquidity, asset standards, and execution logic are all composable.
BTCFi apps interact as a unified system, not isolated silos.
What Comes Next: From Capital to Capability
The real vision of BTCFi isn’t TVL or number-go-up.
It’s about unlocking capability — giving Bitcoin holders access to the same capital efficiency as any DeFi-native user.
Today, the majority of Bitcoin sits idle.
Even if just 1% of it found yield through secure, native BTCFi, that’s over $20B in addressable capital.
But accessing that future requires infrastructure.
Not a patchwork. A stack.
About Persistence One
Persistence One is building the BTCFi Liquidity Hub, enabling fast, near-zero-slippage swaps for BTC, BTC-variants, and LSTs on Persistence DEX.
BTCFi’s rapid growth has created multiple BTC-related assets, making fragmentation a big challenge. Persistence One will provide a single liquidity hub, simplifying value transfer across the Bitcoin ecosystem.
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