Bitlayer
Bitcoin L2 with focus on BTC staking for yield, plus EVM smart contracts.
Architecture
- ZK rollup with state commitments to Bitcoin.
- EVM compatibility for Solidity contracts.
- BTC staking — bridged BTC earns yield via Bitlayer's protocols.
- Federation peg (planned BitVM upgrade).
Position
Among the "BTCFi" Bitcoin L2s competing on yield products, but the TVL has collapsed. DefiLlama chain TVL peaked at ~$406.9M on 17 December 2024, was ~$361.2M on 1 January 2025, ~$2.98M on 1 January 2026 and ~$463k on 16 September 2026 — a ~99.9% drawdown from peak. The contraction is sector-wide rather than Bitlayer-specific (Merlin and BSquared fell on the same curve), but size any deployment against the current figure, not the 2024 headline numbers.
Use cases
- BTC staking for yield.
- DeFi protocols (lending, AMMs).
- Bridge integrations to Ethereum L2s.
Limitations
- Federation trust until BitVM bridge.
- Yield sources sometimes unclear / require careful audit.