crypto.news
Speaking at Money 20/20 in Amsterdam, Ricardo Castro of Rootstock Labs highlighted the focus of the Bitcoin layer-2 protocol on providing global acess to decentralized finance (DeFi), particularly in emerging markets.
Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are by far the two largest decentralized networks, each with unique strengths. $BTC is rewnowned for its robust security standards, while Ethereum’s blockchain emphasizes functionality and utility through smart contracts.
For years, developers have tried to bridge the two concepts and create a network that can bootstrap decentralized finance solutions atop $BTC’s blockchain. Rootstock Labs says it has achieved this, giving Latin American users and crypto participants at large a secure $BTC-backed smart contract platform.
According to Castro, the protocol boasts over 2,000 $BTC, valued at over $141 million, backing DeFi development and liquidity for decentralized applications (dapps) on the layer-2 side chain. The chain uses a native token called RBTC, pegged one-to-one with Bitcoin for transaction validation.
DefiLlama data also confirmed more than $203 million in total value locked on Rootstock, including over $15 million in stablecoins. Castro told attendees that the company will continue to support innovation around Bitcoin smart contact capabilities to bridge the gap between $BTC and Ethereum’s offerings.
The startup has a multi-million pool prize for developers and already issued over 100 grants in the past 12 months, per the exec.
