On December 20, the hybrid Layer2 project BOB (Build on Bitcoin) announced a partnership with the Bitcoin ecosystem protocol Fiamma. The two parties successfully tested the first trust-minimized Bitcoin cross-chain bridge prototype driven by BitVM, significantly enhancing the security and decentralization of Bitcoin cross-chain transactions, and accelerating the implementation and application of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
BOB is a hybrid L2 platform that combines the security of Bitcoin with the flexibility of Ethereum smart contracts. It supports the Bitcoin ecosystem, including Ordinals, Lightning, and Nostr, aiming to improve the usability of Bitcoin and expand its functionalities. BOB's vision is to ensure security through the most secure L1, BTC L1, and to create trustless bridges that connect BTC, ETH, and other L1 blockchains. Therefore, the Hybrid L2 does not rely on third-party bridging tools for interoperability while addressing the issue of decentralized BTC multi-chain liquidity.
Fiamma is a leading BitVM developer and ZKP (Zero-Knowledge Proof) infrastructure company in the Bitcoin ecosystem, aiming to transform Bitcoin into a dynamic asset in a trust-minimized manner and to build a decentralized internet and financial system on Bitcoin.
The success of this collaborative test means that BOB will be one of the first L2 solutions to inherit Bitcoin's security while developing a prototype cross-chain bridge based on BitVM. BitVM is a revolutionary system that allows developers to run complex contracts on the Bitcoin network without any forks or protocol changes, unlocking new usability scenarios and scalability levels for Bitcoin.
It is well known that existing Bitcoin cross-chain bridges typically rely on centralized entities, such as Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) and Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC), or semi-trust networks (like tBTC). The security of these cross-chain bridges depends on the honesty and malicious cost of these centralized entities, posing certain centralized single-point risks. In contrast, the BitVM cross-chain bridge introduces a superior security mechanism: as long as BTC L1 is secure and there is at least one honest node in the network capable of executing on-chain disputes, users can safely access BTC.
Alexei Zamyatin, co-founder of BOB and co-author of the BitVM2 technical white paper, as well as a core research contributor to the BitVM protocol, provides the BOB team with unparalleled insights into BitVM's security and scalability potential in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Alexei stated, "The security of Bitcoin and the trust-minimized Bitcoin cross-chain bridge are the biggest essential differences between Bitcoin L2s and other L1 and EVM-compatible chains. This security from the most powerful and decentralized network of Bitcoin, combined with a cross-chain bridge that allows safe access to Bitcoin without trusting any third party, will form a perfect combination. However, so far, this situation has not occurred, as almost all existing Bitcoin cross-chain bridges are trusted multi-signatures. It wasn't until the emergence of BitVM that we finally had a blueprint and prototype, allowing researchers to achieve this goal through BitVM2."
"The security of Bitcoin and the trust-minimized Bitcoin cross-chain bridge are the two most important pillars for Bitcoin L2s, previously seen as an unattainable holy grail by industry developers, but now we can achieve it through Bitcoin Staking and BitVM2," Alexei concluded.
To accelerate the implementation and application of BitVM2, BOB and Fiamma have successfully reached this collaboration. Fiamma is among the first pioneers to use BitVM2, including the first BitVM bridge and the first BitVM-supported Bitcoin validation layer. Together, they have deployed critical cross-chain bridge infrastructure and tested early versions of validator software to validate BOB's consensus. After the release of this BitVM-driven trust-minimized Bitcoin cross-chain bridge prototype, BOB plans to launch the BitVM bridge on the BOB testnet in early 2025, followed by relevant audit work and ecosystem partner integration, and then push for the official launch of the mainnet.
Cyimon Chen, co-founder of Fiamma and core contributor to BitVM, stated, "We are excited to announce our collaboration with the BOB team, and we greatly appreciate the valuable insights provided by Alexei and his team. We look forward to integrating the BitVM Bridge into BOB's hybrid L2 network, making it the first BTC L2 with a trust-minimized cross-chain bridge. We hope that the BitVM bridge prototype from BOB will be the most impressive outcome of our strategic cooperation for users."
After the official release of the BitVM cross-chain bridge prototype, it will allow BOB users to safely access BTC without relying on third-party institutions. Users can securely lock their BTC on the Bitcoin mainnet and mint fully fungible ERC20 bridged BTC on the BOB chain, which they can redeem at any time. Ideally, the bridging process will take less than an hour one way, which is much faster than existing Ethereum L1 or L2 bridges for Bitcoin.
Additionally, BOB recently announced plans to integrate the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon to bring Bitcoin finality into the hybrid L2 model. The two parties will leverage their respective strengths to integrate the Bitcoin security network, bringing Bitcoin finality into BOB's hybrid L2 network. The trust-minimized cross-chain bridge and Bitcoin finality are important components of BOB's hybrid L2 model, aiming to combine the security and liquidity of Bitcoin with the innovative and multifunctional nature of Ethereum's DeFi, making BOB the "home of BTC DeFi." The successful testing of the Bitcoin cross-chain bridge prototype officially launches Phase 2 of BOB's roadmap, which will become an Ethereum L2 with Bitcoin finality, utilizing significantly enhanced security and the trust-minimized BitVM BTC cross-chain bridge and native ETH cross-chain bridge for faster BTC withdrawals.
Since its establishment, BOB has been committed to promoting the vigorous development of the Bitcoin ecosystem, with its total value locked (TVL) in BTC DeFi exceeding 200 million dollars, including BTC LST assets supported by liquidity aggregation platforms such as Lombard, Solv, Bedrock, and PumpBTC. Furthermore, BOB's one-click Bitcoin staking product BOB Stake will allow millions of users to easily stake BTC assets in DeFi with just one Bitcoin transaction through integration with third-party staking service platforms such as Staking Rewards, Pell, Xverse Earn, and Everstake.
About BOB (Build on Bitcoin)
BOB (Build on Bitcoin) is a hybrid Layer-2 network that combines the advantages of Bitcoin and Ethereum, aiming to establish itself as the "home of BTC DeFi." The unique Hybrid L2 model integrates the strengths of both ecosystems—Bitcoin's security and dormant BTC capital, along with Ethereum's DeFi innovation and versatility. By positioning BTC as the pillar of a new decentralized financial system, BOB can unlock new use cases and trillions of BTC liquidity. BOB perfectly inherits the security of the Bitcoin network using the BitVM protocol and creates trust-minimized bridges between BOB, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other L1 networks. Therefore, the Hybrid L2 does not need to rely on third-party cross-chain bridges for interoperability, easily concentrating liquidity around the Bitcoin network rather than dispersing it across various chains.
BOB is supported by leading investment institutions such as Castle Island Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Ledger Cathay Ventures, and IOSG.
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About Fiamma
Fiamma aims to transform Bitcoin into a dynamic asset in a trust-minimized manner and to build a decentralized internet and financial system on Bitcoin. With the support of top investment institutions Lightspeed Faction and L2 Iterative Ventures (L2IV), Fiamma is committed to leading Bitcoin ecosystem innovation through two infrastructure solutions: Fiamma Bridge and Fiamma Layer, which are among the first Bitcoin ecosystem products to implement BitVM2. In the future, Fiamma will continue to explore innovative protocols to address Bitcoin's programmability gap, enabling Bitcoin to scale and interact seamlessly with programmable blockchains in a trust-minimized manner.
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