What is Bitway? Bitway is a Bitcoin-focused on-chain finance project built around a sovereign Layer 1, native BTC-backed lending, a validator-operated Bitcoin bridge, and stablecoin yield products. Its ecosystem token, BTW, is used for governance, staking, delegation, network gas and selected product incentives.
Core technology and use cases
Bitway Ledger is designed for Bitcoin-compatible applications and stablecoin finance. Its documentation says it preserves native Bitcoin addresses and supports transaction signing through standard Bitcoin wallets. The network also includes ɃTCT, a validator-run Bitcoin bridge using FROST threshold signing. The bridge is designed to support gasless Bitcoin transfers, signer-set key refreshes without replacing the underlying vault, and liquidity routing between Bitcoin and IBC-connected chains.
Bitway Lending provides BTC-backed loans through Discreet Log Contracts, decentralized price oracles, permissionless liquidity pools and automated liquidations. This structure is intended to give Bitcoin holders access to credit without relying exclusively on conventional wrapped-Bitcoin assets.
Bitway Earn combines on-chain vault accounting with off-chain strategy execution. Users can deposit assets such as USDT or USDC and receive yield-bearing voucher tokens, including bwUSDT. Strategies may use centralized-exchange accounts or designated custodians. Standard withdrawals generally enter a seven-day queue, while Flash Unstake allows immediate redemption with a penalty fee. The project says Bitway Earn vaults have been audited by BlockSec and Salus.
Who is behind Bitway and where is it based?
Public professional profiles identify Shane Q. as Bitway’s founder, with his role beginning in May 2023 and his profile listing Hong Kong SAR. The profile URL uses the surname Qiu, but the retrieved source does not confirm his full legal name. Dave Hrycyszyn has served as chief technology officer since May 2024 and is listed in Greater London, England.
Hrycyszyn previously co-founded and led Chainspace and co-authored work on the Blockmania Byzantine fault-tolerant consensus protocol and Chainspace blockchain sharding. These credentials connect Bitway’s technical leadership to prior distributed-systems and blockchain research.
The sources do not confirm a formal founding year. They indicate activity beginning around 2023, while third-party databases report different dates. Bitway has also been described as previously associated with Side Labs or Side Protocol, but the available sources do not establish a complete project-history account.
The team operates across Hong Kong and the United Kingdom based on available profile data. Bitway’s legal entity, foundation or company name, headquarters and incorporation jurisdiction are not publicly confirmed in the reviewed sources.
Tokenomics and security
The maximum and total supply of BTW is 10,000,000,000 BTW, while circulating supply is 2,708,142,280 BTW. Reported third-party allocation figures include 26.67% for community, 20.00% for ecosystem, 20.00% for team, 16.33% for backers, 12.00% for partners and 5.00% for liquidity. Bitway’s official documentation does not provide a definitive allocation and vesting table, so these categories are not independently confirmed.
The published supply is capped at 10 billion BTW. No confirmed official source establishes a recurring inflation rate, burn mechanism, buyback program or automatic fee destruction. Scheduled unlocks from allocated tokens represent distribution of the capped supply rather than confirmed unlimited inflation.
Bitway Ledger uses Proof of Stake. Validators stake BTW to participate in consensus, while delegators contribute to network security. The bridge has separate security assumptions because it relies on validator-operated FROST threshold signing. Bitway Lending is secured through smart contracts, oracles, liquidity providers and liquidation processes, rather than through the bridge’s signing system.
Ecosystem, market position and development
Documented integrations include BNB Smart Chain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and IBC-connected networks. BTW has BEP-20 and ERC-20 contracts, while Bitway Earn supports stablecoin vaults and BNB Chain strategy contracts. The project’s testnet includes payments, BTC pegging, lending, borrowing, earning, staking, governance and block-explorer functions.
Bitway’s main differentiator is its attempt to combine Bitcoin-compatible infrastructure with programmable lending, payments and yield products. The model also depends on off-chain custodians and centralized-exchange execution for some strategies, while the bridge depends on validator threshold signing.
CoinStats recorded BTW at $1.32, with a 24h change of -3.98%. Its market cap was $3.59B (rank #44), 24-hour volume was $50.46M, and the all-time high was $1.43, the current price is 7.41% below it. Current development materials point to expanded stablecoin support, additional networks and broader governance, but no dated roadmap with firm delivery deadlines is confirmed.