Bitcoin Layer Two and Merge Mining

Build on Bitcoin (BOB), Botanix, and Citrea plan to bring DeFi, perps, stablecoins, and much more to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Here’s how.

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In this episode of Unchained, host Laura interviews Alexei Zamyatin, co-founder of Build on Bitcoin, Willem Schroé, founder of Botanix Labs, and Orkun Kılıç, co-founder of Chainway Labs. They discuss their respective projects, all of which are focused on developing Layer 2 solutions for Bitcoin. 

Zamyatin's Build on Bitcoin is a hybrid Layer 2 that connects to both Bitcoin and Ethereum, aiming to bring innovation back to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Schroé's Botanix Labs is developing a decentralized Layer 2 solution using the ‘Spiderchain,’ which uses a series of multi-signature wallets to secure the chain. Kılıç's Chainway Labs is building Citrea, a zk-Rollup on Bitcoin that aims to create a Bitcoin-backed economy. 

All three projects are in various stages of development and testing, with BOB’s mainnet launch expected shortly.

Show highlights:

• Introduction to Build on Bitcoin (BOB), Botanix, and Citrea: How they aim to innovate and expand Bitcoin's capabilities, including their architectural designs that integrate Ethereum users and work toward decentralization and trustlessness.
• Security Aspects and Integration Strategies: What the security risks associated with BOB, Botanix, and Citrea are, and strategies to enhance decentralization over time?
• How these layer 2s influence Bitcoin fees, and how Botanix's integration can leverage the Bitcoin ecosystem, with insights on the potential of Layer 3s and zk-rollups to transform Bitcoin's utility and fee dynamics.
• How these projects aim to attract Ethereum users and developers, and the reasons why this may be an attractive opportunity for them
• How Runes, Ordinals, and BRC-20s operate on Citrea, Botanix, and BOB
• How Bitcoin is always a derivative when it’s not in its layer 1 and the pros and cons of different bridging solutions
• The concept of forward secrecy and how it can help improve security in blockchains
• Why Willem believes that Layer 3s are possible and bullish for Bitcoin
• How ‘merged mining” resembles Ethereum’s restaking and why it’s positive for Bitcoin

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Thank you to our sponsors! Polkadot

Guests | 

Willem Schroé, founder of Botanix Labs 

Orkun Kılıç, cofounder of Chainway Labs 

Alexei Zamyatin, cofounder of Build on Bitcoin

Links | 

Recent coverage on Unchained of Bitcoin L2s:

Stacks’ Muneeb Ali On Why Bitcoin Is Exciting Once Again

Build on Bitcoin

• BOB learning documents
• Announcement of mainnet on May 1st.
• Unchained: Bitcoin DeFi App Sovryn to Deploy on Hybrid Layer 2 Network Build on Bitcoin
• Alexei’s tweet on BitVM/rollups 
• Alexei went on a retreat with the inventor of BitVM

Citrea

• Unchained: Here's What You Should Know About Citrea, Bitcoin's First ZK Rollup
• Whitepaper
• Orkun Mahir Kılıç’s interview on Unchained Premium
• Citrea learning documents
• Clementine -Citrea's BitVM Based Trust-Minimized Two-Way Peg Program

Botanix

• CoinDesk: Willem Schroé: Building Botanix, a Bitcoin Layer 2 That Brings the EVM to Bitcoin
• Botanix and the Future of Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Magazine: Spiderchains: A Proof Of Stake Second Layer For Bitcoin
• Willem Schroé’s interview on Unchained Premium

Learn More |

Unchained:

What Is the OP_CAT Bitcoin Improvement Proposal? 

What Are Opcodes in Bitcoin? A Beginner's Guide 

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Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC.  Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz. 

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