DeFi

Bitcoin DeFi is far from failing, its popularity is “not that far away”: Bitlayer co-founder

Published

7 months ago

9 July, 2024

CoinFlix Staff

Bitcoin DeFi is far from failing, its popularity is “not that far away”: Bitlayer co-founder

Key points to remember

BTCfi tokens are down 23.4% in 2024, but the ecosystem’s TVL has increased by over 100%.
There are three main factors slowing BTCfi adoption: market distractions, user experience issues, and general cryptocurrency market conditions.

Share this article

Decentralized finance tokens Bitcoin (BTCfi) are down 23.4% on average in 2024, according to data Artemis. This contrasts with the hype shared by investors that the Bitcoin decentralized finance (BTCfi) ecosystem would surge this year. However, Charlie Hu, the co-founder of layer-2 blockchain Bitlayer, emphasizes that this narrative is far from dead and lists three reasons why BTCfi is lagging.

“When the BRC-20 came out, there was almost no excitement in the market. The Web3 space was in a bear market, and there was not much to talk about during that period when trading volume was low. Compared to now, we have other things to attract people’s attention, so distraction is the first reason,” Hu explains.

BTCfi is a relatively new ecosystem consisting of blockchains built on the Bitcoin blockchain, which serve as base layers for decentralized applications. The total value locked (TVL) of this ecosystem has increased by more than 100% in 2024, according to to the data aggregator DefiLlama.

However, Hu mentions that BTCfi being something new, its user experience is still not optimized. This creates confusion, which leads to liquidity fragmentation, and this is the second reason why BTCfi has still not taken off.

“I think there are still some things we need to educate the market on. There are a lot of people who still don’t know how to bridge the gap between layer 1 assets and layer 2 of Bitcoin. Now you’re moving out of layer 1 of Bitcoin, but what are the use cases that actually make sense?”

Therefore, by solving user familiarity with Layer 2 Bitcoin applications, Hu believes that a “big wave of liquidity” will occur and emphasizes that protocols such as Bitlayer have a key role in this process.

“Bitlayer is one of the first destination chains among all these liquidity protocols. We are trying to connect all these programmable Bitcoins [wrapped tokens] in our ecosystem and use that liquidity to support all the DeFi protocols, because you can’t do much with them without liquidity.”

The third reason is related to the cryptocurrency market as a whole, as prices and trading volumes have been declining since March. Therefore, the BTCfi narrative needs on-chain activity to return to take off, and the Bitlayer co-founder believes that this is “not that far away.”

An underlying scalability problem

Implementing layer 2 blockchains solves the scalability problem, but only up to the second page. Taking Ethereum as an example, the introduction of a dedicated block space within blocks, called “blobs,” was necessary to handle the growing number of different layer 2 chains created on top of its infrastructure.

As the number of layer 2 blockchains created on Bitcoin also increases, it is quite normal that this ecosystem faces the same problem. However, Charlie Hu is not worried about it, citing the developments made on this front.

“We are still at the very beginning of the infrastructure level. There are a few teams trying to build zero-knowledge proofs on Bitcoin, and we think ZK-snarks have more cost advantages in terms of scalability. Anything you want to write on the Merkle tree and transmit on the Bitcoin block is expensive, so it is important to have a cost-effective way to do the state transition and verify it on Bitcoin,” Hu shares.

The Bitlayer co-founder also discusses the ongoing project of introducing the OP_CAT code on the Bitcoin blockchain, which would facilitate the interaction of data on the network. OP_CAT is an operation code disabled by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2010 to prevent possible exploitation of vulnerabilities while the Bitcoin blockchain was still nascent. However, the idea was taken up by the group known as Taproot Wizards.

The introduction of OP_CAT could significantly improve the ability to build applications using Bitcoin as infrastructure and is also highlighted by Hu as a way to boost scalability. However, this is not a goal for the current bull cycle.

“In this cycle, the goal is to unlock the existing liquidity of Bitcoin, which has not been a yield-generating asset for the last 15 years, sitting in cold wallets doing nothing, to now become programmable money.”

Why not use Ethereum instead?

A common feature of all Layer 2 blockchains built on Bitcoin is compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This means that the code of Ethereum-native decentralized applications, such as Aave or Uniswap, can be replicated across these Layer 2 networks.

Users might therefore ask why build an ecosystem around Bitcoin instead of maintaining the current landscape that connects Bitcoin to Ethereum native applications. Hu explains that while Ethereum is an important infrastructure for Web3, Bitcoin offers different values and shows greater long-term sustainability.

“If we look long term, what ecosystem can survive in the next decade or two, we think proof of work is still one of the best consensus for a decentralized network, for a public chain. If we choose a public chain that can survive with solid assets still on the chain, it’s definitely Bitcoin.”

Additionally, the Bitlayer co-founder adds that Bitcoin presents itself as a more decentralized ground to build a DeFi ecosystem, which translates to safer assets. So it makes sense for Hu to integrate battle-tested Ethereum applications with Layer 2 Bitcoin blockchains.

“Security of assets is the most important thing in terms of decentralized finance and so on. I think what’s happening on Ethereum is great, but compared to Bitcoin, it’s just a different level of value, a different level of diversity.”

Share this article

Fuente

DeFi

If You Missed BONK and PEPE This Year, This Viral New Crypto Might Be Your Salvation

Published

6 months ago

29 July, 2024

CoinFlix Staff

If You Missed BONK and PEPE This Year, This Viral New Crypto Might Be Your Salvation

Bonk and Pepe appear set to net new investors 10x to 100x returns over the next 12 months. However, cryptocurrencies in the DeFi play-to-earn gaming sector could offer even greater returns. As August approaches, Rollblock is emerging as a standout DeFi play-to-earn gem with the potential to 100x-1000x gains in the fourth quarter and beyond.

The project features an innovative revenue sharing model and exceptional accessibility, attracting players and investors. Additionally, Rollblock’s extensive game library of over 150 titles and enhanced sports betting are further driving excitement for the platform. Cryptocurrency analysts are expecting a sudden surge in demand. 800% a push for Rollblock from the beginning of September.

Bonk remains strong despite market fluctuations

While most well-known cryptocurrencies struggled throughout July, Bonk remained strong. As one of the highest-grossing meme cryptocurrencies of 2024, Bonk rose over 24% in July, while most cryptocurrencies experienced negative fluctuations.

Investors looking to add a relatively safe memecoin to their portfolio should consider Bonk. While Bonk is unlikely to generate explosive gains of 250x to 1,000x from here on out, Bonk could still theoretically provide returns in the 20x to 100x range.

Pepe should see a big rise in the next bull run

Alongside Bonk, Pepe has yet to go through a bull run. This means that there are still substantial gains to be made from Pepe over the next 12 months.

Pepe is down 4% in 30 days, but that shouldn’t worry Pepe investors in 2024. Experts believe Pepe’s best days are still ahead, with crypto analysts predicting a 10x to 50x surge in the next election cycle around November.

In the long term, Pepe could surpass the 100x mark for today’s investors. However, Pepe is a memecoin, and one should exercise caution when investing in purely speculative assets that have no utility.

Rollblock’s Unprecedented Hype Potential Could Push It Past 100x Valuation in Q4

Rollblock is a GambleFi Play-to-Earn token that integrates centralized and decentralized gambling on a single platform. By allowing players to earn rewards through active participation and gameplay, the platform creates a compelling incentive structure that appeals to both casual and competitive players.

With its cutting-edge blockchain technology, Rollblock offers top-notch security that keeps bets and transactions on the platform secure. The platform’s lack of KYC mandates appeals to both users who value anonymity and security.

Rollblock’s revenue sharing model, which allocates up to 30% of casino revenue to RBLK token holders, is a major draw for investors. The model involves burning half of the repurchased tokens and distributing the other half to stakers, increasing the token’s value and encouraging long-term investment.

The platform is also constantly evolving thanks to user feedback which has enabled updates such as the upcoming sports betting feature within the platform’s casino. This addition will complement Rollblock’s extensive game library of over 150 titles, ranging from traditional poker to innovative blockchain-based games.

RBLK is expected to emerge as one of the leading DeFi tokens in 2024. With a price of $0.0172 with impressive growth potential and over 140 million tokens sold recently, Rollblock is on track to enter the top 100 cryptocurrencies by Q4, making today a lucrative time to buy RBLK tokens.

Discover the exciting opportunities of the Rollblock (RBLK) presale today!

Website: https://presale.rollblock.io/

Social networks: https://linktr.ee/rollblockcasino

No spam, no lies, only insights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Fuente

DeFi

Cryptocurrency sector is experiencing ‘most misjudged moment’ since 2020, says venture capitalist Arthur Cheong

Published

6 months ago

29 July, 2024

CoinFlix Staff

Cryptocurrency sector is experiencing ‘most misjudged moment’ since 2020, says venture capitalist Arthur Cheong

Veteran cryptocurrency investor Arthur Cheong believes the digital asset sector offers long-term holders a golden opportunity.

Cheong, the founder of DeFiance Capital, tell His 171,700 followers on social media platform X indicate that he believes decentralized finance (DeFi) is hugely undervalued.

According to Cheong, DeFi projects are innovating at a rapid pace and leaving traditional financial (TradFi) companies in the dust.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited about the risk/reward and potential upside of DeFi. This is probably the most misjudged moment since the pre-DeFi summer of 2020, with extremely promising prospects.

I see opportunities not only in OG (original) DeFi, but also in some newer projects that are evolving rapidly and growing at a pace that fintech startups will do anything to match.

The veteran investor also believes that crypto is now here to stay following recent launch from the Ethereum spot market (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last week.

“Overall, the floodgates are open and there is no turning back. TradFi asset managers will continue to launch new crypto products because, guess what: there is huge demand for them!”

I expect them to launch actively managed crypto ETFs [in the] coming years. ”

Earlier this month, Cheong laid that it might be a bad strategy for cryptocurrencies to seek mass adoption, believing that digital assets are designed to disrupt several key financial sectors.

“I think we should accept that cryptocurrencies may not be suited for mass adoption like Web2, but rather are optimized for some narrow but very high-impact use cases like stateless global money, cross-border payments, and decentralized finance.

Chasing mass adoption of normies may be chasing the wrong Grail from the start.

Don’t miss a thing – Subscribe to receive email alerts directly to your inbox

Check Price action

follow us on X, Facebook And Telegram

Surf The Daily Hodl Mix

&nbsp

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed on The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their own due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Featured image: Shutterstock/ktsdesign