A crypto project that could push Bitcoin (BTC) further into the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) is exploding in price.
The altcoin RSK Infrastructure Framework (RIF) is up 90% in the last 24 hours, at $0.15.
The project, which was launched by Gibraltar-based IOVlabs in 2019, has built a layer-3 protocol on top of BTC.
The protocol is designed to expand Bitcoin’s utility and offer a gateway that makes it easier for developers and people to use BTC in DeFi applications.
The platform is built on Rootstock, which is a blockchain that aims to mesh the security of Bitcoin with the smart contract capabilities of Ethereum.
The rise of RIF comes amid mounting hype over Bitcoin-based NFTs, which have exploded in popularity this month.
The project also released an updated roadmap on February 6th, detailing plans to push several products to mainnet and launch BTC-powered domain names.
RIF is now the 239th-largest crypto asset by market cap.
Although the altcoin has soared 160% in the last week, it remains 66% below its all-time high of $0.45, which was set in April of 2021.
RIF isn’t the only BTC-DeFi coin that’s on the rise. Stacks (STX) is up 121% in the last 7 days, at $0.68.