Welcome to What’s Up Bitcoin, our newest series that will keep you up to speed with the highlights of what’s happened in the Bitcoin ecosystem over the past few weeks 🥳
This month has seen notable protocol upgrades and new integrations that continues to set the foundation for a thriving BTCfi ecosystem.
Without further ado, let’s get into it. 👇
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1. Bitcoin 2024 Sees Big Names In Nashville
The highly anticipated Bitcoin 2024 conference kicked off this week in Nashville, USA. The event, which features the biggest names in Bitcoin and is headlined by the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, is a must-attend for anyone interested in the future of Bitcoin.
The conference was scheduled to run between July 25th and 27th. Sponsored by XAPO Bank, Bitcoin 2024 promises to be a pivotal moment for the crypto sector, with industry leaders such as Michael Saylor and Cathie Wood delivering speeches.
Other notable speakers include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Russell Brand, Edward Snowden, and Vivek Ramaswamy.
2. The Lightning Network Brings Multi-Asset Interoperability
The Lightning Network announced the release of its multi-asset Lightning product, a significant milestone that allows users to make instant, low-fee asset transfers with Taproot Assets. This upgrade will transform Lightning into a global, interoperable financial layer, opening up new possibilities for the Bitcoin ecosystem.
In addition, the Lightning Network is introducing trustless, non-custodial, on-chain swaps, a feature that allows users to swap assets for Bitcoin via Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBTs).
3. TVL Continues to Build on L2
The TVL continues to build for Layer-2s on Bitcoin 🦾
Data from our friends at @BTCEcosystem shows that Merlin Layer 2 continues to be the protocol with the highest TVL in July 2024, with a total TVL of $1.488B.
This is followed by:
✅ Bitlayer with $525M,
✅ AI Layer with $331M
✅ BounceBit with $309M
✅ Stacks with $242M
4. Ferrari Brings Bitcoin Payments for Vehicles in Europe
Ferrari announced that they would accept Bitcoin and crypto payments in Europe.
This is a bold step for luxury car manufacturers as they expand their crypto payment opportunities to a new, high-profile continent.
By collaborating with BitPay, Ferrari can now allow its customers to purchase its vehicles using Bitcoin, Ether, and USDC.
5. BEVM Launches Sats Network and Decentralized Indexer
BEVM, the first fully decentralized EVM-compatible Bitcoin L2 that uses BTC as Gas, announced its first Sats Network on the BEVM Stack.
Sats Chains is a product from BEVM that offers a secure sandbox experience for developers to test with $BTC and $sats-based applications, using $sats for transaction fees and governance.
BEVM also introduced the first Decentralized Indexer on the BEVM Bridge. This innovative indexer ensures the security and traceability of innovative Bitcoin asset standards, including BRC20, Ordinals, and Runes.
6. CoreDAO Launches Dual Staking Model for BTC Yields
CoreDAO, a Bitcoin L2 that allows developers to build EVM-compatible smart contracts on a Bitcoin-powered blockchain, announced the introduction of dual staking to its ecosystem.
It allows Bitcoin holders to earn higher yields if they stake both Bitcoin and CORE tokens, providing higher rates to stakers.
CoreDAO launched its non-custodial Bitcoin staking system in April 2024 and has already attracted over 5,000 BTC – worth more than $300 million.
7. pSTAKE Finance Announces BTC Liquid Staking Solution Launch Date
Another project working to bring yield to BTC holders is pSTAKE Finance, which just announced that its Bitcoin Liquid Staking solution will officially go live on July 29th, 2024.
pSTAKE Finance is on a mission to turn BTC into a yield-generating asset through liquid staking. Unlike other BTC staking products, pSTAKE allows its users to deposit BTC and earn a yield while retaining the liquidity of their assets through the yield-bearing yBTC token.
The first source of yield for pSTAKE Finance will come through @babylon_chain, a security-sharing protocol that turns BTC into a slashable asset, allowing it to secure PoS Chains and earn rewards.
pSTAKE Finance has stated that additional sources of yields will be introduced in future versions of its protocol.
8. SatoshiVM Integrates BTC Connect for Chain Abstraction
SatoshiVM, the L2 that utilizes ZK Rollups and native BTC as gas, announced an integration with Particle Network to bring Chain Abstraction to its network. The integration brings the Particle Network’s BTC Connect into the SAVM Alpha Mainnet, bringing more security and efficiency for cross-chain transactions.
BTC Connect is the first-ever Account Abstraction protocol for the Bitcoin ecosystem that enables compatibility between Bitcoin and EVM-based dApps.
9. Build On Bitcoin Introduces BOB Pay for BTC Transfers Through Email
Build on Bitcoin announced that it has added BOB Pay to its network, enabling Bitcoin and stablecoin transfers without a wallet, application, or seed phrase.
Build on Bitcoin is a hybrid L2 that combines Bitcoin’s security with Ethereum’s versatility, with the goal of building everything on Bitcoin.
BOB Pay makes sending Bitcoin and stablecoins as easy as sending an email. Through Bob Pay, anybody can send BTC, USDT, or USDC to an email address, with the transaction cost estimated to be less than $0.01.
This innovation builds on chain abstraction and improves the UX by removing the complexities associated with seed phrases and wallets.
10. Rootstock Labs Launches Runes Toy Bridge
Rootstock Labs announced that it launched a new Runes Toy Bridge on Rootstock, allowing developers to easily build Runes apps on the network.
Runes is designed to elevate the BTCfi sector by simplifying the process of creating fungible tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain.The new Runes bridge helps devs build Runes-focused applications on Rootstock, helping users etch Runes on the Bitcoin network.
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As you can see, it’s been a very exciting month for Bitcoin developments and updates in July 2024. With the Bitcoin ecosystem continuing its expansion, the stage is set for BTCfi to start catching up to the TVL of Ethereum DeFi.
Persistence One looks forward to helping BTCfi grow through its novel cross-chain intent token swapping solution, which aims to connect the BTCfi ecosystem by allowing seamless swaps of BTC derivatives across chains.
We’re excited about the way things are looking for Bitcoin and BTCfi, and are thrilled to be building for the Orange giant.
About Persistence One
Persistence One is building a Bitcoin interoperability solution to enable cross-chain BTC swaps across Bitcoin Layer 2s.
The rapid rollout of Bitcoin L2s and side chains has led to fragmentation, hurting BTCfi scalability. Using the power of intents, Persistence One will enable users to move assets across Bitcoin Layer 2s more efficiently than traditional bridging, offering fast, secure, zero-slippage cross-chain swaps.
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