The Future of the Bitcoin Ecosystem: A New Paradigm from Wallets to Cross-chain Technology
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
The Future of the Bitcoin Ecosystem: A New Paradigm from Wallets to Cross-chain Technology
How can we seize the opportunities and position ourselves for the next wave of ecosystems and projects?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsText:律动 BlockBeats
The Bitcoin ecosystem is already about much more than just inscriptions.
While some are still debating whether the value of public chain inscriptions is a "pseudo-problem," in reality, beyond inscriptions, the Bitcoin ecosystem also includes several BTC L2 and DeFi projects currently under development—projects that have drawn significant attention from developers and institutional capital. What many don't realize is that the market caps of these project tokens aren't significantly lower than those of certain Bitcoin inscriptions.
The current Bitcoin ecosystem stands at a critical juncture. While large-scale financial applications have yet to emerge within the Bitcoin ecosystem, we can already observe a shift of inscriptions from the primary to secondary markets. This trend signals the continuous development and refinement of financial infrastructure within the Bitcoin ecosystem, quietly awaiting a turning point with the potential to become a sustained focal point in the future of the cryptocurrency space.
So how can we seize this opportunity and position ourselves for the next wave of ecosystems and projects? In this article, BlockBeats introduces several Bitcoin ecosystem infrastructure projects worth long-term attention.
Stacks
Originally known as Blockstack, Stacks was founded by Muneeb Ali in 2013. Its goal is to enable smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) to run on the Bitcoin network, positioning Stacks as a Layer 2 (L2) solution for Bitcoin.
Stacks introduced a unique consensus mechanism called Proof of Transfer (PoX), which allows it to maintain Bitcoin's security while adding new functionalities like smart contracts—all without altering Bitcoin itself. Through PoX, Stacks settles transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain while running its own autonomous state machine and consensus mechanism, thereby expanding Bitcoin’s functional scope.
While anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain, Stacks operates as an independent protocol. By introducing the Clarity smart contract language and the Stacks Virtual Machine (SVM), it enables execution of smart contracts on the Bitcoin blockchain, opening up new possibilities for Bitcoin-based DeFi and NFT applications.
STX is its native token, used for staking, governance, fee payments for smart contracts, and value transfer. In 2019, STX became the first token offering to gain recognition from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Additionally, Stacks launched sBTC, a Bitcoin-pegged asset enabling communication between Stacks and the Bitcoin network, enhancing decentralized interoperability and security. Unlike wBTC, sBTC is fully community-operated with no centralized custodian—a key innovation Stacks brings to Bitcoin.
Alex
ALEX, established in 2021, stands for Automated Liquidity Exchange and is a Bitcoin DeFi platform built on the Stacks blockchain. ALEX aims to integrate Bitcoin Layer 1 and Layer 2 functionalities to deliver a seamless DeFi experience. The platform’s native token serves multiple purposes including incentives, staking, and voting.
ALEX offers a range of services such as an IDO (Initial DEX Offering) launchpad, DEX (decentralized exchange), staking, and lending—all settling transactions with Bitcoin’s finality. A key feature of ALEX is not only providing liquidity support for emerging projects but also introducing a decentralized trading platform to enhance market liquidity.
Currently, ALEX is one of the largest projects on Stacks, with twice as many active users as Sovryn. The platform’s next phase focuses on improving scalability and user experience within the Bitcoin economy. Notably, the ALEX team comprises experienced quantitative trading experts from Wall Street institutions such as Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. ALEX Labs has previously secured funding from OKX Ventures, the Stacks Foundation, Trust Machines, and others.
To date, ALEX has completed audits with CoinFabrik and Lease Authority and launched its mainnet in January 2022. It also raised $5.8 million in a new funding round led by White Star Capital, with participation from Cultur3, GBIC, and OK Blockchain Capital. On December 20, 2023, LK Venture, a crypto investment and research arm of Hong Kong-listed Bluehole Interactive, announced a strategic investment in ALEX Labs (proposed by Wang Feng), aiming to jointly build a broader Bitcoin financial ecosystem.
UniSat
As a leading BRC20 wallet, UniSat now plays a crucial role in the Bitcoin ecosystem. In the early days when the Bitcoin ecosystem was still niche, UniSat began developing BRC-20 wallets and was seen as an outlier. Over time, as BRC-20 gained massive traction on the Bitcoin network, UniSat emerged as one of the early beneficiaries of this trend.
UniSat is recognized as the first open-source browser extension wallet for Bitcoin Ordinals, capable not only of storing and transferring Ordinals but also viewing unconfirmed inscriptions—all fully open-sourced. This greatly enhances its potential within the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. UniSat also supports instant minting, making storage and transfer of BRC-20 tokens more convenient for users.
Another highlight is UniSat’s innovative on-chain BRC20-Swap feature, allowing users to exchange BRC-20 tokens directly within the Bitcoin blockchain, ushering in a new era of decentralized trading on Bitcoin. UniSat also provides developer-friendly API access with rich functionality. Notably, in the BRC20-Swap function, UniSat uses SATS as transaction fees, empowering the SATS token.
Recently, UniSat announced a series of major updates, including the launch of the UniSat Ordinals Marketplace and integration with Atomicals, further enhancing platform functionality and user experience. With these technological advancements, UniSat’s role in the Bitcoin DeFi and NFT ecosystems continues to grow, making it a project worth long-term attention.
ZetaChain
Founded in 2021, ZetaChain is a Layer 1 smart contract blockchain focused on solving cross-chain interoperability challenges. It aims to create a seamless framework for message passing, state synchronization, and free asset exchange across heterogeneous chains—connecting not only EVM chains like Ethereum, Ethereum L2 rollups, Solana, Terra, and Algorand but also non-EVM chains such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin.
Currently, some DeFi projects use wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) to represent Bitcoin in other forms. ZetaChain, however, enables "native BTC swaps" using omnichain technology, eliminating the need to wrap or lock assets. Since there is no interdependency in wrapping or locking, users’ idle funds face no risk. All transactions—including cross-chain activities—are fully transparent, verifiable, and operate with minimal trust.
The team is led by former employees of Coinbase and Brave, along with co-founders of 0x and BAT, bringing extensive experience. ZetaChain has received backing from top-tier investors including Blockchain.com, Jane Street Capital, VY Capital, Smrti Lab, Sky9 Capital, Lingfeng Capital, Vistalabs, and Foundation Capital.
On November 17, ZetaChain partnered with Sushi, which will expand to ZetaChain and add native BTC support. This new feature introduces the first native Bitcoin trading capability in DeFi. As a major public blockchain supporting omnichain universal smart contracts and inter-blockchain communication, ZetaChain elegantly solves existing “cross-chain” and “multi-chain” issues through omnichain technology, unlocking greater application potential for Bitcoin.
Recently, ZetaChain’s testnet attracted widespread attention, with over 1.3 million wallet addresses participating—an impressive number for a nascent blockchain project, demonstrating strong community appeal and market demand. This highlights ZetaChain’s influence and growth potential within the blockchain community.
As an incentive for early contributors, ZetaChain announced its token distribution plan: 22% of the total supply—462 million ZETA tokens—will be allocated to contributors. Of this, 10% (210 million ZETA) will go to end users via a User Growth Pool to reward community participation, while 12% (252 million ZETA) will form an Ecosystem Growth Fund to support developers and drive ecosystem expansion.
Additionally, ZetaChain plans various wallet partnership campaigns and social tasks upon mainnet launch as part of its promotion strategy. With the booming Bitcoin ecosystem and rising demand for cross-Bitcoin-chain solutions, combined with ZetaChain’s maturing platform and broad applicability, it represents a significant benefit to users and the wider crypto ecosystem—making it another project worth long-term monitoring.
Bounce Finance
Bounce Finance, founded in September 2020, is a decentralized auction protocol created by Jack Lu, partner at NGC Ventures. It offers a diverse suite of auction products including token, NFT, and physical collectible auctions, as well as tools like SDKs and plugins.
Initially unremarkable, Bounce Finance faded from view during the crypto bear market. However, with the resurgence of the Bitcoin ecosystem and Bounce’s multi-chain capabilities—enabling creation and participation in various auctions across different blockchains—it has regained relevance.
In November, Bounce successfully conducted the MUBI token IDO auction on Ethereum, achieving over 80x returns in a short period. It also completed the public sale for Bitstable, a cross-chain DeFi protocol based on Bitcoin. On December 1, Bounce Finance launched BounceBit, a DeFi solution designed for the Bitcoin ecosystem, powered by AUCTION and based on Binance Bitcoin (BTCB). BTCB is a BEP2/BEP20 asset pegged 1:1 to Bitcoin and secured on the Bitcoin blockchain, enabling Bitcoin holders to participate in DeFi while retaining their Bitcoin exposure.
As the crypto market evolves, Bounce Finance has become a key IDO platform within the Bitcoin ecosystem. By successfully launching multiple Bitcoin-native project tokens, Bounce has proven its strength as an asset issuance platform and delivered significant wealth effects to users. These successful IDOs have solidified Bounce Finance as a notable player in the crypto landscape.
RGB
The idea of issuing assets on the Bitcoin network dates back years. The origins of the RGB protocol trace back to 2016. Although its evolution stems from collective community efforts, the concept draws inspiration from Peter Todd’s early work on client-side validation and one-time seals.
The RGB protocol leverages Bitcoin’s security and decentralization while supporting advanced features like asset issuance and smart contracts. Using client-side validation combined with Bitcoin’s UTXO model, RGB executes smart contracts while keeping data and code off-chain, improving scalability and privacy.
Key features of RGB include enhanced transaction security via one-time seals, support for various applications such as tokenized assets and digital identities, and improved transaction privacy and reduced fees. RGB supports both fungible and non-fungible digital assets, expanding Bitcoin’s functional and application potential.
The RGB protocol represents a promising direction for Bitcoin, potentially enabling broad smart contract applications and advanced digital asset functions. It introduces a novel approach to executing smart contracts off-chain while relying on Bitcoin’s secure settlement layer, enhancing Bitcoin’s scalability and utility—a project worthy of long-term observation.
BitStable
BitStable is a decentralized asset protocol built on the Bitcoin network, embedded within the Bitcoin blockchain to provide a unique framework for creating, trading, and managing synthetic assets. Through a dual-token system and cross-chain compatibility, the platform enhances asset liquidity on the Bitcoin chain. Key components of BitStable include two tokens: DAII and BSSB.
DAII is BitStable’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, with a total supply of 1 billion. Users can obtain DAII by staking ORDI or MUBI on the BitStable website, and the project has also issued some DAII on Ethereum for direct purchase.
Following the successful launch of DAII via Bounce’s Launchpad, DAII has become increasingly involved in other Bounce-related projects. Staking DAII is one way to gain eligibility for the BDID Launchpad on Bounce, and participants in Bounce’s Launchpad events can also qualify by staking DAII.
BSSB is the platform’s governance token, used by the community to maintain the system and manage DAII. BitStable incentivizes BSSB holders through dividends and other mechanisms. The total supply of BSSB is 21 million: 50% was publicly sold on Bounce Finance, 5% is held by the team (6-month lockup with 15-month linear unlock), 3.5% is allocated for airdrops, 36.5% for staking rewards, and 5% for LP (indefinitely locked).
TurtSat
TurtSat plays a role similar to Bounce Finance’s Bounce Brand—a newly emerged asset issuance platform based on a community-driven Ordinals open platform. Its mission is to become the Gitcoin of the Ordinals world, enabling anyone to build, donate to, and benefit from Ordinals ecosystem protocols via TurtSat. Its native token is TURT.
TurtSat will develop three core modules: Donation Protocol, indexing services, and an Ordinals open-source tools platform. Since launch, TurtSat has incubated multiple projects (including CHAX, a BRC-20 asset protocol; MUBI, a BRC-20 bridge; NHUB, an Ordinals aggregation platform; DOVA, an Ordinals lending platform; and RAIT, a gaming platform for the Bitcoin ecosystem)—all early BRC-20 infrastructure builders that have performed well post-launch.
Notably, on December 21, TurtSat announced a strategic partnership with DWF Labs. Both parties will provide comprehensive support for open-source Ordinals projects and ecosystem builders in advancing Ordinals infrastructure—making it another project worth long-term attention.
Multibit
Multibit, launched in May this year, is a bridging protocol connecting BRC20 assets to EVM networks, enabling seamless token transfers between the ETH chain, BNB chain, and BTC network. It aims to facilitate frictionless token movement between the Bitcoin blockchain and other EVM networks, boosting liquidity and interoperability.
On November 12, Multibit completed its IDO auction on Bounce Finance, raising 88 ETH. On November 4, it conducted another IDO at the same price on TurtSat, a Bitcoin network donation platform, raising 4.64 BTC. Combined, the two rounds raised approximately $350,000.
On November 14, MUBI opened with a 1,140% surge, gaining over 300% in the following week, with its market cap approaching $70 million. It currently has over 6,000 holders. MUBI has a total supply of 901,224,547 tokens, all of which are already in circulation.
Multibit simplifies token transfers between Bitcoin’s BRC20 and EVM networks. First, users transfer their BRC20 tokens to a designated BRC20 address. Upon confirmation, the Multibit protocol mints an equivalent amount of tokens on Ethereum or the BNB chain. The protocol collects distributed tokens from unique addresses and securely transfers them into a unified cold wallet. When users wish to withdraw, Multibit burns the corresponding amount on the EVM chain and sends the equivalent tokens from the secure cold wallet to the user.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
BlockBeats
