Translation:
Since the development of this bull market, the construction of the Bitcoin ecosystem has gradually prospered. This article will organize the five current popular Bitcoin-related public chains for readers. This article is sourced from the book “DODOResearch” by PANews.
Article Contents:
BounceBit
Merlin Chain
B2 Network
BOB
Mezo
Author’s Point of View:
With the halving of Bitcoin mining rewards, this bull market has been initiated by the BTC ETF narrative and will soon face a wave of pullbacks due to the upcoming BTC halving. The BTC ecosystem has undergone significant changes compared to six months ago, with VC institutions actively entering the market. In addition to the meme texts launched by the community, many public chain projects led by venture capital institutions or exchanges have emerged, such as BTC L2 or repledge chains.
CryptoSnap Dr.DODO will introduce readers to five popular BTC-related public chains and their capital support this week.
BounceBit:
BounceBit is a public chain that uses the value of BTC as its security basis and boasts expanding the use cases of Bitcoin through its Restaking mechanism. It recently announced that its token $BB will be listed on the Megadrop token issuance platform of Binance Web3 Wallet. After receiving public investment from BinanceLab, BounceBit has gained popularity. Now, it has announced that it will cooperate with Binance Web3 Wallet, making $BB one of the few new BTC projects supported by Binance, attracting more users and funds.
Unlike other BTC L2s that rely on the security of the Bitcoin chain, BounceBit focuses on building an independent POS public chain based on the value of BTC. By cooperating with CeFi asset management institutions, it allows users to earn additional income from their BTC holdings through fee arbitrage and other forms. The $BBTC certificates obtained by users through staking can be used to run BounceBit Chain nodes or obtain $BB token rewards through the LST protocol. In addition, the introduction of the Restaking mechanism allows other applications in the BounceBit ecosystem to rely on $BBTC in nodes to complete other verification tasks, such as oracles and cross-chain bridges.
BounceBit is currently running a points program where users can earn points by depositing assets such as wBTC and BTCB. This program will continue until the start of Metadrop.
Source: https://www.binance.com/en/research/projects/bouncebit
Merlin Chain:
Among the five projects introduced today, Merlin Chain has the highest TVL (Total Value Locked), currently exceeding $950 million. It is also the earliest BTC EVM L2 to launch its mainnet. Its token $MERL has recently been listed on top exchanges such as OKX and Bybit.
Merlin Chain is invested by institutions such as The Sparta Group and OKX Ventures. It is a Layer2 solution built on top of Bitcoin, adopting both OP-Rollup and ZK-Rollup architectures. It is called an optimistic ZK-Rollup and introduces a decentralized oracle network as the Data Availability Committee (DAC) to solve the data availability problem.
Specifically, Merlin’s sequencer sends transaction data to Oracle nodes and Prover nodes (using lumoz’s Prover as a Service). Oracle nodes are responsible for verifying ZK proofs and publishing verification results to the Bitcoin chain (ZK-Rollup). Since ZK proofs cannot be fully verified on the Bitcoin chain, a fraud proof mechanism is imported to allow others to challenge the verification process (OP-Rollup), ensuring the security of the network.
Source: https://docs.merlinchain.io/merlin-docs/architecture
Merlin’s ecosystem projects are also the most successful among BTC L2s. The TVL of protocols such as Solv Funds, Avalon Finance, and MerlinSwap has all exceeded $100 million. However, after the successful launch of $MERL, it is necessary to continue to pay attention to whether there will be a large number of airdrop hunters moving funds elsewhere.
Source: https://defillama.com/chain/Merlin
B2 Network:
B2 Network is also a BTC EVM Layer2 project invested by institutions such as Hashkey Capital, OKX Ventures, and Kucoin Lab. In terms of technical architecture, B2 Network has some similarities with Merlin Chain. Both adopt the optimistic ZK-Rollup with ZK-Rollup and OP-Rollup running in parallel. They also cooperate with Polygon Lab to extend Polygon CDK to BTC using the zkEVM solution. Users can interact with both EVM and BTC wallet accounts, taking into account the habits of users from both ecosystems. Since BTC cannot store large amounts of data, B2 Network has built its own DA Layer B2 Node and plans to upgrade it to B2 Hub in the future, providing a data availability layer and state verification/proof system based on the Bitcoin network for other developers to use Polygon CDK and B2 Hub to build their Bitcoin Rollup.
What sets B2 Network apart from other BTC Layer2s is its vision, which is not limited to just one BTC Layer2, but has ambitions similar to Cosmos Hub or Op Stack, aiming to become the center of BTC Layer2 through B2 Hub.
Source: https://docs.bsquared.network/architecture
B2 Network also launched its mainnet during the BTC halving. The first phase of the lock-up airdrop has ended, and the second phase of random airdrop is currently underway. Users who bridge BTC to the B2 Network mainnet have the opportunity to receive airdrops when the protocol tokens are released. This activity has no specific time limit, but the official statement mentions that it may end at any time.
BOB (Build On Bitcoin):
BOB, also a BTC EVM Layer2 project, is invested by institutions such as Castle Island and Coinbase Ventures. It raised $10 million in seed funding.
According to BOB’s roadmap, BOB divides its technology into three stages. In the first stage, BOB L2 will launch its mainnet in the form of an Ethereum OP Rollup, with settlement occurring on Ethereum. It will track the Bitcoin state through Bitcoin light nodes, verify block headers, and accept transaction inclusion proofs to achieve trustless cross-chain operations.
Source: https://docs.gobob.xyz/docs/learn/bob-stack/roadmap
In the second stage, BOB will introduce Bitcoin PoW security and use a new merged mining protocol called OptiMine to separate block production from PoW. The BOB sequencer processes transactions and blocks, which are then verified by Bitcoin miners to verify the state of BOB Rollup. Only when the state transition is correct, miners will include the commitment as part of PoW, minimizing trust in the sequencer. Finally, the sequencer submits data covering PoW commitments to Ethereum, using Ethereum as the DA Layer to verify data availability.
Source: https://docs.gobob.xyz/docs/learn/bob-stack/roadmap
In the third stage, Bitcoin will be introduced as the settlement layer. BOB’s goal is to introduce Bitcoin as the settlement layer (currently under research). One possible solution is to introduce ZK compression as part of the fraud proof process and cooperate with ZK infrastructure providers. BOB also plans to design a BOB light client, build bidirectional bridges, and develop the BitVM program to ultimately achieve BOB Rollup state verification.
These three stages demonstrate BOB’s development path from the initial optimistic Ethereum Rollup to the introduction of Bitcoin PoW security, and finally to the use of Bitcoin as the settlement layer. Through this progressive hybrid design, BOB aims to inherit the security of Bitcoin and the programmability of Ethereum, providing an innovative Layer-2 solution for the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem.
Source: https://docs.gobob.xyz/docs/learn/bob-stack/roadmap
Currently, BOB is conducting its first season of points activities, where users can earn points rewards by depositing tokens such as tBTC, WBTC, stablecoins, and ETH LST. However, with the halving event approaching, the official announcement states that the mainnet will be launched on 4/24, and the first season of activities will end and the second season of points activities will begin. The details have not been disclosed yet.
Mezo:
Mezo, recently announced to have raised $21 million in financing led by Pantera Capital and participated by top venture capital firms such as Multicoin and Hack VC, is a new Bitcoin public chain developed by the Thesis team, which also created the BTC wrapped asset tBTC. They describe themselves as the base layer of Bitcoin and are committed to building an application ecosystem based on users’ economic needs. They focus on expanding BTC application scenarios and refer to their consensus mechanism as Proof of HODL. The network is protected by users locking BTC and MEZO tokens and executing CometBFT consensus to verify transactions.
Mezo is also conducting a HODL points activity, where users can earn points rewards by depositing native BTC, WBTC, or tBTC. Currently, Mezo has not disclosed many technical details. All deposits in Mezo are stored in a locked contract controlled by the team’s multisig until the Mezo mainnet is launched.
Source: https://info.mezo.org/proof-of-hodl
Author’s Point of View:
The public chain narrative is always the most valued and highly financed track in the blockchain ecosystem. Many institutions are eager not to miss this wave of the Bitcoin narrative-driven bull market and have launched various public chain projects associated with Bitcoin concepts. From a practical perspective, does Bitcoin really need these L2s? Or, in other words, do cryptocurrency users care whether the underlying layer of their chain is BTC or EVM?
From the author’s point of view, the more relevant approach may be to judge the value of the capital behind each project and participate in airdrops, lock-up activities, and other events to obtain free tokens. In addition, one can pay attention to whether there are top-level Memecoins or official endorsements after the mainnet launches.
Source: https://www.panews.io/article/19819