Latest news with #BitVM2
Business Mayor
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
What to expect from the BTCfi & L2s companies at the Bitcoin Conference in Vegas
The annual Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas is a pivotal event for the Bitcoin ecosystem, where companies unveil breakthroughs, announce partnerships, and deliver speeches that shape the narrative of digital assets. For many, the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming. Having attended several conferences and being familiar with the attending companies through my work at UTXO, I've highlighted key panels and expected developments for 2025, focusing on Bitcoin's Layer 2 (L2) and BTCfi ecosystems. The full agenda is available using this link: Here's a breakdown of anticipated announcements and panels, categorized by key themes: Since BitVM's introduction in 2023, top Bitcoin development teams have been working tirelessly to transform centralized sidechain designs into true Bitcoin rollups and permissionless L2s. At the 2025 conference, expect these teams to unveil the first versions of BitVM2 bridges, providing critical details on their mechanics. Once live, BitVM2 bridges could unlock a wide range of decentralized BTC use cases, accessible to all Bitcoin holders. May 2025 might mark a turning point, potentially signaling the decline of centralized 'crypto' and DeFi projects in favor of a Bitcoin-native economy. As the saying goes, on a long enough timeline, everything comes back to Bitcoin. Bitcoin L2s face a steep challenge: competing with established crypto players while earning the trust of Bitcoiners. The conference is likely to feature major partnership announcements, particularly at the infrastructure level, addressing long-standing barriers to BTCfi adoption. These collaborations could bolster the credibility and functionality of L2 solutions, paving the way for broader acceptance. The recent announcement that Tether (USDT) will return to Bitcoin by issuing its stablecoin on Lightning rails via Taproot Assets has sparked significant excitement. Expect major updates from companies in this space, particularly regarding Taproot Assets and stablecoin integration. The Lightning Network is poised for dominance, and 2025 could be the year it breaks into the mainstream. With growing support for covenant activation on Bitcoin and recent debates over mempool policy on social media, governance discussions will be a focal point. These panels promise to be intellectually stimulating, offering deep insights into Bitcoin's core mechanics and potential fireworks for those following the debates. Attending these sessions will likely be the most rewarding experience of the week for anyone seeking to understand Bitcoin's future. Below is a curated list of panels aligned with the above categories, along with my expectations for each. (Note: These predictions reflect my personal perspective and are not definitive. This list is not exhaustive but highlights high-signal sessions for attendees with limited time.) Panels and Keynote with the highest probability of a major announcement related to Bitcoin L2s and BTCfi products: in other words, this is where major alpha will be dropped
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin Rollup Citrea Deploys Bridge to Tackle Collateral Bottleneck of Using BTC in DeFi
A project aiming to expand Bitcoin's utility is tackling the collateral requirements of bridging the blockchain to programmable layer 2s. Rollup project Citrea deployed its Clementine Bridge on the Bitcoin testnet. The bridge uses the BitVM2 programming language to expand the provision for decentralized finance (DeFi) on Bitcoin, by using it to verify layer 2s and sidechains that are fully programable in the way Bitcoin isn't. "A secure bridge between Bitcoin and a secondary layer has always been a bottleneck for using BTC in a programmable environment," Citrea said on Monday. Clementine is designed to solve this by providing a trust-minimized way to bridge bitcoin (BTC) for use in DeFi environments. The BitVM family of computing paradigms, which could allow Ethereum-style smart contracts on Bitcoin, often lies at the heart of attempts by developers to make the network more programmable and thus allow BTC to power DeFi activities. However, BitVM is hampered by the requirement to deposit BTC as a security mechanism each time a computation is initiated. "We reuse the operator's collateral, allowing them to facilitate multiple peg-outs with a single collateral," Citrea co-creator Ekrem Bal told CoinDesk in a Telegram message. Peg-outs refer to the process of moving assets from a sidechain back to Bitcoin, triggering the release of the locked BTC collateral on the main chain. Citrea deployed Clementine on the original BitVM design last September. Citrea's latest bridge uses BitVM2, an upgrade that boasts improvements such as allowing any participant to challenge suspicious transactions, not just a fixed set of operators. Sign in to access your portfolio
