It’s been an incredible quarter for us at Persistence One as we set the foundations on our new Orange-themed road to build for the BTCfi world.
From rebranding to align with Bitcoin to developing an interoperability product and conducting the first cross-chain private testnet BTC swap, Q3 2024 was a period of significant milestones for us. Let’s revisit these key achievements before we unveil the exciting plans for Q4 2024.
Looking Back: A Change of Direction and Swift Development
Our new direction might have started in July 2024, but we’ve been bullish Bitcoin believers for a very long time. Our new direction was not just a shift in strategy but a shared journey with our beloved Persisters. We detailed our bullish belief in Bitcoin and our intention to build a cross-chain Bitcoin swapping solution in a letter that set the tone for the next three months of building.
To help our community understand the new direction to build on Bitcoin, we released a detailed breakdown of why a BTC interoperability solution makes sense for the BTCfi world, explaining how the lack of fungibility between BTC variants is stalling the growth in the BTCfi landscape:
We also released an in-depth explainer of our cross-chain BTC swap solution, which will be powered by intents. In a nutshell, intent-based swaps allow users to specify the outcome of the trade while leaving the execution route up to expert market makers called Solvers. For a more detailed outlook on why we believe interoperability will help BTCfi grow into a $250B+ industry, take a look at the following article:
To align ourselves with the new Bitcoin direction, we announced a new look for the Persistence One website:
We also changed our logo to incorporate the essential themes of Bitcoin:
In August 2024, we continued our educational initiatives to keep the community well-informed about the benefits of an interoperability solution for the BTCfi world. For instance, we released a comprehensive write-up analyzing the differences between liquidity pools and intent-based swaps.
This was further explained through another article that detailed the major problems that BTCfi faces and how an interoperability solution can help solve them:
We also went deeper into why Persistence One made the decision to start building for Bitcoin;
Finally, we concluded the month by providing an overview of the growth of the BTCfi world in 2024. If you haven’t been following BTCfi, this is the perfect article to get up-to-speed on why it’s emerging and where it’s heading:
September 2024 saw remarkable strides in bringing our BTC interoperability solution to fruition. We started the month by answering the most frequently asked questions surrounding our solution:
We then hit a major milestone by making the first private testnet swap:
Finally, we also released a teaser of our UI, which saw some excited responses from our community:
But that wasn’t everything…
So much more was happening for Persistence One in Q3 2024, but we would be here for quite some time to go through it all.
The following list encapsulates some of the most important highlights to be aware of.
- Persistence DEX was integrated into Skip Protocol’s API.
- The team attended the Bitcoin2024 conference in Nashville, meeting some very special friends.
- Our COO, Jeroen Develter, appeared on FintechTV and spoke on the Market Movers program.
- The team attended Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul.
- Jeroen appeared on “The Crypto Conversation” and BlockHash podcast to discuss bringing DeFi to Bitcoin.
- He also appeared on the Web3 with Sam Kamani podcast to discuss building bridges in Bitcoin L2s + joined the “Building on Bitcoin Singapore” event hosted by Stacks.
- We released a few editions of our “What’s Up Bitcoin” series, providing an insight into the latest happenings for projects in the BTCfi world.
We also wrote a wide variety of articles that are important to read:
- A blog surrounding Bitcoin L2s and the many BTC variants spawned from the BTCfi ecosystem.
- An article about why a BTC Interoperability solution makes sense.
- A blog describing the differences between Bitcoin L2s and Side Chains.
- An article to understand cross-chain intents.
- An overview of the tech that spawned the BTCfi evolution.
- An article surrounding Bitcoin’s role in a multi-chain ecosystem.
There was also a lot happening on the XPRT Governance side of things:
- A governance proposal was passed surrounding the reward incentives of Persistence DEX pools.
- A proposal passed for PersistenceCore v11.14.0.
- A proposal went live for Persistence DEX incentives for August 2024.
- A proposal was passed to allocate 1M XPRT to incentivize XPRT liquidity across several DEXs, including Persistence DEX, Osmosis, Velodrome, Aerodrome, and others.
- A proposal was passed to incentivize Persistence DEX pools with stkXPRT for September 2024.
- A proposal was passed to upgrade to PersistenceCore v11.15.0 to address the IVC Timeout Fix and Vesting Accounts issue with LSM.
Looking Forward: Bringing the BTCfi World Together Through Interoperability
As we forge ahead on our Orange-themed path, the excitement is palpable for what Q4 2024 holds.
In Q4, we’re not just planning anymore; we’re innovating. We’re well on our way to bringing our BTC cross-chain swap solutions to life and are excited for you to be part of that journey.
Expanding Horizons with Testnet Deployments
With our first private testnet swap successfully completed, our mission now is to aggressively deploy and test our product across a multitude of testnet networks, targeting a diverse array of Layer 2 solutions and side chains. This strategic expansion includes integrating wrapped BTC versions, such as Coinbase’s cbBTC and Binance’s wrapped BTC variant. These steps are crucial in enhancing the interoperability within the BTCfi ecosystem.
Collaborative Integration and Rigorous Testing
Meeting the high standards we set for ourselves means forming strong partnerships within the BTCfi space. We aim to integrate their BTC variants and conduct comprehensive cross-chain swaps across various networks, both internally and externally. Such collaborations are key to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the crypto world.
Enhancing User Experience
During our internal testing phase, we’ll be implementing significant updates to our UI, striving for an unparalleled user experience. We’re committed to sharing these updates on our social media channels and eagerly anticipate feedback from our community Persisters to refine our offerings.
Engaging the Community with Public Testnets
Once satisfied with internal testing, we plan to roll out a public testnet, offering exclusive invite codes to our community members. This initiative not only allows users to experience our cross-chain swapping solution firsthand but also ensures that their valuable feedback helps us perfect it. In appreciation of their efforts, we’ll run multiple campaigns to reward participants who dedicate time to testing our product.
Together, let’s shape the future of BTCfi interoperability. The horizon is bright, and your participation makes it even brighter.
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.