On July 2, the hybrid Layer2 project BOB (Build on Bitcoin) announced the official activation of native BTC on its BitVM testnet, supported by ten leading industry and DeFi institutions: P2P.org, Lombard, Solv Protocol, Amber Group, Ankr, RockawayX, Fiamma, UTXO Management, Luganodes, and SatLayer. Following the testnet launch, the BitVM bridge and native BTC will go live on the BOB mainnet in Q4 2025.
The successful activation of native BTC on the BitVM testnet solidifies BOB’s position as the “home” for Bitcoin DeFi, as it brings native BTC—rather than wrapped BTC—into its expansive Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. This marks a fundamental distinction from other current DeFi solutions that rely on centralized custodians or multisig mechanisms for wrapped BTC. BOB’s BitVM bridge employs a fraud-resistant “1-of-N” security model to ensure Bitcoin-level security. Just as ETH remains “ETH” on Ethereum scaling chains like Optimism and Arbitrum, BTC on BOB remains fully native and is simply referred to as “BTC.”
Notably, the BOB BitVM testnet partners are all members of the BitVM Alliance—an initiative dedicated to advancing BitVM from theoretical research into practical implementation. These leading DeFi players are actively contributing by operating or launching BOB BitVM nodes, significantly accelerating the real-world deployment and testing of BitVM technology.
This also marks the first time that partners outside the BitVM Alliance—a collaborative group of leading BitVM builders—have operated BitVM infrastructure, demonstrating the real-world viability of the BitVM bridge in active development.
Alexei Zamyatin, Co-founder of BOB and Founding Member of the BitVM Alliance, said: “Our vision has always been to place Bitcoin at the heart of the DeFi system, and BitVM makes this possible. With the introduction of native Bitcoin on BOB, secured by Bitcoin-native networks, there is no need to trust any third-party centralized entity.”
Additionally, Alexei Zamyatin predicts an imminent explosion in Bitcoin DeFi growth, with BitVM infrastructure unlocking trillions of dollars in liquidity across multi-chain ecosystems. He added, “This BitVM testnet launch includes a broad range of partners—investment firms, infrastructure providers, liquidity providers (LPs), and DeFi protocols. I’d especially like to thank our BitVM Alliance partners—P2P.org, Lombard, Solv Protocol, Amber Group, Ankr, RockawayX, Fiamma, UTXO Management, Luganodes, and SatLayer—for their support and feedback on BOB’s newly designed BitVM bridge.”
“Joining the BitVM Alliance and participating in BOB’s newly launched BitVM testnet is a natural extension of Solv’s mission: unlocking trillions in liquidity and yield from native Bitcoin assets. We believe BitVM represents a path toward trustless BTC DeFi, and BOB’s BitVM testnet proves exactly that. The trustless architecture of BitVM perfectly aligns with our vision: achieving institutional-grade yield fully rooted in the Bitcoin protocol itself and bringing that yield back to Bitcoin,” said Ryan Chow, Co-founder and CEO of Solv Protocol.
“At P2P.org, we’ve always believed Bitcoin’s potential lies in becoming the foundation of DeFi systems—not just dormant digital gold. BOB’s BitVM bridge represents a fundamental breakthrough, enabling native BTC to participate in DeFi without the trust issues that have hindered BTC-based DeFi ecosystems. We’re proud to contribute our expertise to the BitVM testnet, as we firmly believe BitVM is the missing piece needed to unlock trillions in Bitcoin liquidity,” said Artemiy Parshakov, VP of Institutional Business at P2P.org.
As a hybrid Layer2 chain, BOB combines the strengths of both Bitcoin and Ethereum networks, offering the optimal entry point into Bitcoin DeFi. This unique hybrid Layer2 model introduces substantial improvements over existing BitVM bridge designs:
- Ethereum-based data availability: Leverages lower-cost Ethereum blocks for fraud-proof data access instead of relying on Bitcoin for data storage. As a result, BOB’s BitVM inherits the same censorship resistance as Ethereum sidechains like Arbitrum or Base.
- Split operator roles: Separates responsibilities between operator nodes (handling computation) and operator liquidity providers (LPs) (supplying BTC liquidity for withdrawals). Inspired by proof-of-stake (PoS) systems, this enables role specialization aligned with institutional products, improving efficiency and lowering capital requirements.
- Collateral reuse: Based on research from Citrea and CommonPrefix, BOB allows operators to reuse BTC collateral across multiple BitVM instances, significantly enhancing scalability.
About BOB (Build on Bitcoin)
BOB (Build on Bitcoin) is a hybrid Layer2 network that combines the strengths of Bitcoin and Ethereum, aiming to become the “home of BTC DeFi.” Its unique Hybrid L2 model integrates advantages from both ecosystems—the security and dormant BTC capital of Bitcoin, and the DeFi innovation and versatility of Ethereum. By positioning BTC as the cornerstone of a new decentralized financial system, BOB unlocks novel use cases and trillions in BTC liquidity. Using the BitVM protocol, BOB inherits Bitcoin’s network security and establishes minimally trusted bridges between BOB, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other L1 networks. As a result, the Hybrid L2 does not rely on third-party cross-chain bridges for interoperability, effortlessly concentrating liquidity around the Bitcoin network rather than fragmenting it across chains.
BOB is backed by leading investment firms including Castle Island Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Ledger Cathay Ventures, and IOSG.
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