The decentralized finance (defi) of the Bitcoin blockchain may be still in its early stages compared to Ethereum, but Bitcoin defi (BTCFi) is becoming safer and cheaper.
The central participants are rootstock, one of the oldest Bitcoin Layer 2 projects, Crypto Analytics company Messari said in a “Lutstock of Lootstock” report released Thursday.
The rootstock is currently protected at 81% of the total hashrate of Bitcoin. That is, miners with hashrate approved tier 2 trades were 56% before onboarding Foundry and Spiderpool, the world’s largest and sixth largest mine pool, in February.
Messari also observed that transaction fees on rootstocks are 95% cheaper than average Bitcoin transactions and 55% cheaper than Ethereum transactions.
Rootstock is one of many projects that aim to bring greater utility to Bitcoin by expanding Defi’s regulations using smart contracts enabled in ‘BITVMX’, a modified version of the BITVM programming language. Other notable Bitcoin Layer 2 projects include Stack and Bob (“Bitcoin Build”).
The project also connects to the bridging protocol Layerzero, allowing Rowstock-Native applications to connect with dozens of other blockchains, including Ethereum and Solana. According to Messari, that momentum will set the stage for the expansion of BTCFI adoption for the remainder of 2025.
“As BTCFI continues to grow, Rootstock is suitable for wider adoption through core upgrades such as a 60% reduction in transaction fees, along with sustained investments in builder education and incentive programs.”
Read more: Bitcoin’s role in defi is “unexplored opportunities,” says Binance Research