Bitlayer Collaborates with Antpool, F2Pool, and SpiderPool to Boost BTC DeFi Initiatives

Bitlayer, a Bitcoin Layer 2 leveraging the BitVM concept, has joined forces with three major bitcoin mining pools—Antpool, F2Pool, and SpiderPool. This innovative collaboration aims to enhance the real-world implementation of BitVM, a pioneering technology designed to facilitate Bitcoin-native decentralized finance (DeFi).

For several years, the Bitcoin ecosystem has struggled to keep pace with other Layer 1 platforms like Ethereum, largely due to its inherent technical challenges, particularly the absence of Turing-complete smart contracts. The BitVM framework from Bitlayer overcomes these limitations by providing Turing completeness and security akin to Bitcoin, all while respecting the integrity of Bitcoin’s original protocol and principle structure.

Realizing this vision necessitates the support of miners—those responsible for forming new blocks and confirming transactions in return for BTC. The new collaboration assures such needed backing.

The participating mining pools, which account for over 36% of Bitcoin’s hashing power, have pledged their assistance for non-standard transactions (NSTs). This is integral to the challenge-response system of BitVM, as confirmed by the involved firms. Their backing alleviates a major hindrance to BitVM’s rollout, bringing the technology closer to mainstream implementation.

NSTs are valid transactions per Bitcoin’s consensus guidelines but are not forwarded by standard Bitcoin Core software, complicating their confirmation without miner involvement.

In this partnership, Antpool, F2Pool, and SpiderPool will act as protectors of the BitVM Bridge, ensuring that NSTs are effectively integrated into blocks and securely recorded on Bitcoin’s unalterable ledger.

The BitVM bridge is a specialized mechanism that ensures the secure transfer of BTC into alternative blockchain environments—such as rollups, cross-chain protocols, and smart contracts—while avoiding reliance on centralized entities. This mechanism unlocks potential for expanded Bitcoin DeFi functionalities without sacrificing the network’s fundamental security.

“BitVM offers the most reliable pathway for on-chain validation in Bitcoin while maintaining its core security features. This collaboration addresses the crucial last-mile challenge of incorporating Non-Standard Transactions on-chain,” stated Kevin He, co-founder of Bitlayer.

### A Gain for Miners

This achievement marks a significant step not only for Bitlayer but also represents a strategic advantage for miners, particularly at a time when they are experiencing declining revenues due to halved BTC rewards every four years.

Andy, Antpool’s CEO, remarked that the BitVM initiative could stimulate new economic activities and generate fee-based revenues for miners.

“Powered by BitVM, Bitlayer facilitates the movement of BTC into DeFi and Layer 2 landscapes. This translates to increased utility, higher fees, and long-term viability for miners,” Andy explained.

Leon Liang, strategy chief at F2Pool, underscored the value of innovative projects like Bitlayer, stating, “We aim to support quality initiatives that broaden Bitcoin’s capabilities.”

SpiderPool’s CTO, Kenway, highlighted the expansive potential of Bitcoin as a financial services platform, stating, “This alliance opens up new opportunities for Bitcoin DeFi, amplifying its usefulness while reinforcing the essential role of miners in the ecosystem.”

### Rising Demand for Bitcoin DeFi

Bitlayer’s partnership with these mining leaders follows recent integrations with prominent Layer 1 ecosystems, including Sui, Base, Arbitrum, and Starknet. Collectively, these collaborations showcase the increasing need for secure, Bitcoin-native DeFi frameworks that can scale effectively.

Bitlayer is actively working to onboard additional validators and early users to bolster and enhance the BitVM Bridge, aiming to establish it as a fundamental component of Bitcoin’s future evolution.