Franklin Templeton-backed Bitlayer rolls out Bitcoin bridge on mainnet

Bitlayer faces competition from other Bitcoin DeFi protocols such as BabylonChain, Stacks and BounceBit.

Bitlayer, a Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure startup backed by Franklin Templeton, has launched its smart contract bridge on mainnet, aiming to make Bitcoin more interoperable across multiple blockchain networks.

The bridge, called BitVM, is described by the company as a “trust-minimized bridging solution for Bitcoin holders.” It enables users to deposit Bitcoin (BTC) into a smart contract, where it is held in escrow and converted into Peg-BTC (YBTC), a tokenized version of Bitcoin that can interact with smart contract platforms.

According to Bitlayer, Peg-BTC is designed to facilitate programmability and crosschain compatibility. The company has already secured partnerships to integrate the bridge with networks including Sui, Base, and Arbitrum.

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