AI Summary
Show More
Quickly grasp the article's content and gauge market sentiment in just 30 seconds!
The rise of the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector back in 2017 is firmly associated with the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. It was Ethereum that introduced the concept of smart contracts, and the first prominent DeFi protocols were all born on this blockchain. For a while, it seemed like Bitcoin (BTC) stayed away from the emerging DeFi phenomenon. It’s only in the past few years that the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem, dubbed BTCFi, seemingly started to show the first signs of life. This impression is, however, not entirely correct. As early as January 2018, the first DeFi-focused Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin — the Rootstock (RBTC) sidechain — celebrated its mainnet debut.
Rootstock remains the oldest and longest-running Layer 2 platform for the Bitcoin ecosystem. It’s smart contract-capable and highly compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM). While the platform can support all kinds of decentralized applications (DApps), it specifically focuses on the DeFi niche, with nearly all of its leading apps dedicated to crypto finance use cases. Along with smart contract functionality, Rootstock enjoys the famed security of Bitcoin, thanks to its merged mining with the world's largest chain. The sidechain also features superior scalability and lower transaction fees than Bitcoin’s Layer 1 and Ethereum.
With this combination of benefits, it’s no wonder that the Rootstock sidechain has managed to keep a leading position in the fast-developing BTCFi field all these years.
Key Takeaways:
Rootstock (RBTC) is an EVM- and smart contract–capable Layer 2 sidechain for Bitcoin designed for DeFi applications and use cases.
The oldest existing Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin, Rootstock was launched in January 2018 and features close to 180 applications and utility solutions, offering DeFi services like token swaps, stablecoin issuing, lending, borrowing and more.
The platform's primary cryptocurrency, RBTC, is pegged to Bitcoin at a 1:1 rate. RBTC is used for gas fee payments, miner reward payouts and as a utility token within Rootstock-based DApps.